A recent study by Civitas, The Institute for the Study of Civil Society, points out that wind farms actually produces more CO2 and related pollutants than would be used, if wind turbines were left running on grid power at all times.

The necessity of constantly turning on wind turbines when the wind is favourable, and off when the velocity is too high, along with the grid power necessary to maintain them, actually causes the operation of wind farms to produce more pollution than if the turbines used the grid to operate constantly.

Each time the grid is used to start turbines on a wind farm, a surge of electricity is needed to power up the fossil fuel station where the power originates. Thus, more CO2 and pollution is released into the atmosphere than there would normally be if the wind turbines either operated fully on the grid or were removed from it altogether.

Ruth Lea, author of the Civitas report states that by having to constantly switch on and off power from the grid to operate and maintain wind turbines, drastically increases CO2 and pollution levels above that, which would be produced if the turbines were always on grid power. They go on to say wind turbines only produce energy around 30% of the time, in a small window when the wind is favorable for operation. Thus, the other 60% is being supplied by the grid. Continue reading at:

Wind Farms: Big polluters that produce little electricity : The Canadian National Newspaper.