Wind Farms

In Ars Technica I see an article that talks about the use of massive arrays of wind turbines off shore as a source of renewable energy. The focus of the article however, was not on the turbines' ability to generate power, but on a side effect they have: hurricane suppression.1 Now, as the purpose of using renewable energy is to reduce the impact humanity has on climate in particular, and the ecosystem in general. However, if the impact of these turbines is as strong as described here, then these turbines must have an effect beyond just reducing the frequency of, and intensity of, hurricanes. They must be reducing the intensity of regional wind patterns across the board. An impact great enough to drop a hurricane's wind speeds by up to 90 miles an hour must surely be enough to play all sorts of havoc with the Gulf Stream, and thus, I am told, accelerate climate change. 23

  1. Mr. John Timmer. "Massive offshore wind farms’ unexpected benefit: Hurricane protection" Ars Technica Last Viewed 2014-02-27 http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/02/massive-offshore-wind-farms-unexpected-benefit-hurricane-protection ↩

  2. Mr. John timmer. "Santa’s revenge: melting Arctic ice may be driving this winter’s chill" Ars Technica Last Viewed 2014-02-27 http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/02/santas-revenge-arctic-ice-may-be-putting-us-in-a-long-deep-freeze/ ↩

  3. The article cited here does not really focus on the effects of the gulf stream on climate. It mentions it in passing, but it is what has me thinking about the connection between the Gulf Stream and climate change. ↩