Environmental Impact - How wind farms are winding up environmentalists in South Africa

While wind energy is bringing many benefits to South Africa and it’s growing demand for power, researching and choosing where the wind farms are erected, and the environmental impacts, has played a huge role in its approval and acceptance from the government and affected communities.

Over the last few years, with the growth the wind industry in SA has experienced and how many new wind farms have been popping up, it’s safe to say the process to get these farms going hasn’t been easy and there have been many cases opposing them.

One of the main concerns with the erection of wind farms is the impact it has on the animals and wildlife in that area. Between 2014-2018, a study was conducted to determine this impact and found that 800 birds were killed after colliding with turbines during this four-year period. They also found the variation of birds killed was interesting since they varied in species with up to 130 different species found. The authors of this study claim, “wind energy is a clean, renewable alternative to fossil fuel-derived energy sources, but many birds are at risk from collisions with wind turbines” and so without careful planning, there are a lot of species that can be at affected.

In another case, environmentalists are appealing the new wind farm project by Addo Elephant Park, stating that the drone from the turbines could “cause stress in the park’s flagship elephant herds and interfere with their ability to communicate”. This project could also hinder the park’s aerial anti-poacher spotter system and impair eco-tourism as an economic force in the Eastern Cape. The aim for this would be to try find alternative solutions such as changing the location, since it has been found that “elephant sounds are very low frequency, they can hear up to 10 kilometres away, elephant communication occurs at low frequencies, rhinos, the same. It’s certain that the noise from the turbines will be heard by the elephants of Addo, even motor vehicle engines can confuse elephants…”

Wind farms, as a whole, have been embraced by communities and our country, but the social and environmental controversary that is connected to South Africa’s abundant biodiversity is a factor to consider when these wind farms are proposed and approved. Working together with environmentalists, researchers and scientists can help us achieve mutually beneficial relationships between wind farms and their environments. While a win-win situation might not always be possible, awareness and action can help industry leaders make impactful decisions for the wind industry in SA.

Source: National Wind Watch - www.wind-watch.org