BowArk Energy Ltd.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association has just recently published a series of wind energy fact sheets covering 12 topics related to wind farms including:

·		Environmental Benefits
·		Wind Technology
·		Wildlife - Birds, Bats and Wind Energy

You can find the entire series of fact sheets on the CanWEA website.

·		Canadian Wind Energy Association - Best source for Canadian wind industry news & information.

·		American Wind Energy Association - US Wind news, events and fact sheets

·		Manitoba Sustainable Energy Association - News and information on renewable energy initiatives in Manitoba

·		Ontario Sustainable Energy Association - Ontario news and resources

·		Wind Power by Pembina - Information on how to buy wind power.

·		Office of Energy Efficiency - Government site promoting energy conservation. Good source for cost saving suggestions including links to provincial rebate/ incentive offers.

·		Wind With Miller - Animated and interactive site explaining wind power to kids of all ages published by the Danish Wind Energy Association. Includes teachers guide & practical activities.

·		Renewable Energy Basics - Educational project plans for teachers and students focused on renewable energy.

·		Canadian Wind Energy Atlas - Interactive map allows you to view average wind velocity in your area.

·		Ontario Wind Atlas - Detailed wind atlas focused on Ontario.

Wind energy is a form of solar energy, created by circulation patterms in the Earth’s atmosphere that are driven by heat from the sun.

People have made use of wind energy for thousands of years, fashioning sails and attaching them to boats for transportation or to wind mills to grind grain. The energy that the wind contains can either be used directly, as in these examples, or it can be converted into that high-value, high flexible and useful form of energy we call electricity.

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Source: Wind Energy - How does it work?
The American Wind Energy Association.

Good question, and a difficult one.

Wind plants are very, very quiet compared to other types of industrial facilities, such as manufacturing plants, but most industrial plants are not located in rural or low-density residential areas. In those types of areas, background noise tends to be lower than in urban areas.

On the other hand, wind plants are always located where the wind speed is higher than average, and the “background” noise of the wind tends to “mask” any sounds that might be produced by operating wind turbines - especially becasue the turbines only run when the wind is blowing. The only occasional exception to this general rule occurs when a wind plant is sited in hilly terrain where nearby residences are in dips or hollows downwind that are sheltered from the wind - in such a case, turbine noise may carry further than on flat terrain.

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Source: Wind Energy - Facts about Wind Energy and Noise - The American Wind Energy Association.