Wind energy

• In its lifetime of about 20 years, a wind turbine has a “benefit factor” between 3000 and 8200%. That means that the turbine produces 30 to 82 times more energy than it is necessary for its creation, delivery, use and disassembly.
• The noise of a wind farm on a distance of 350 m is as loud as the human whisper.
• Wind farms do not disturb the environment because of the noise. A turbine with a height of 78 m with a wind speed of 12-14 m/s creates only 41 dB (for comparison: a normal conversation creates 50 dB).
• Birds do not come close to wind farms.
• Wind energy plants are creating no harmful emissions.
• Power generation from wind is used in Europe for more than 800 years.

Reduction of the emission of waste material:
The use of fossil fuels during the production of electricity results with the emission of waste material, while the production of electricity in wind energy plants is not accompanied by the emission of waste material (except in the phase of equipment production).

Needed area:
Wind energy plants take up significantly less surface area than other energy plants with the same capacity.

Environment:
As the wind farm is an object with a very good environmental performance, with its construction the consumption of fossil fuels in the energy system of Croatia is reducing and thus it improves the quality of the environment. Wind farms do not produce any harmful substances, do not emit pollutants into the air, do not leave out effluents, do not generate significant waste and are not radioactive.

The energy of the future:
The nature “supplies” us every day with large quantities of sun and wind and this totally free. Wind is a renewable energy source with a great potential, it is available to everyone and can not be spend.

Other advantages:

• Diversification of production and security of supply
• Domestic production and reduction of energy imports
• Development of the economy, the development of the domestic industry
• Creation of new jobs and technological development

What is the distance to the nearest house of the future wind farm (noise)?
The nearest houses are 650 m by air from the wind farms. Wind farms are located in areas of infrastructure systems which suit the purpose of economic zones according to the Regulation on the highest noise margin in middles where people work and reside.

What is the maximum allowable noise level in the settlement?
The maximum permitted level of external noise is determined according to the use of space ie. the highest noise margin in the middle where people work and reside, and it amounts to 45 dB for the day and 40 dB for the night.

Which visual impact will the wind farm have on the residents?
Wind turbines are due to their size and numbers always visible elements in the landscape. As for the visual aesthetic effect, turbines do no operate negatively, because they are aesthetic well-designed and as a rule they are painted to fit into the environment. With their work they can represent a new and interesting content in the area.

What are the adverse impacts on the ground (are oils used which can pollute the ground)?
Adverse impacts on the ground are small, since temporary impact on the ground will only have the arranging of the access roads and internal roads between the individual wind farms.

What maintenance do wind turbines require?
The maintenance of wind turbines is simple what can be concluded from the fact that only one person is visiting the location.



EU directive about renewable energies

State	1997. (%)	2010. (%)
Cyprus	0,05	6,0
Czech	3,8	8,0
Estonia	0,2	5,1
Hungary	0,7	3,6
Malta	0,0	5,0
Letonia	42,5	49,3
Litva	3,3	7,0
Poland	1,6	7,5
Slovakia	17,9	31,0
Slovenia	29,9	33,6
TOTAL EU-25	12,9	21,0

Overall, in all 25 EU member states with a share of 12,9% in 1997, a share of 21% in 2010 should be achieved.

State	Tariff system	Installed MW
Denmark	Fix / High	2,880
Greece	Fix / Low	276
Italy	Fix / High	785
Germany	Fix / High	12,001
Spain	Fix + Premium	4,830
Sweden	Political conditioned	328
UK	System of competitions	552

Top 10 of the installed capacities in the year 2007.

Country	MW	%
Germany	22,247	26,6
USA	16,818	17,9
Spain	15,145	16,1
India	8	8,5
China	6,05	6,4
Denmark	3,125	3,3
Italy	2,726	2,9
France	2,454	2,6
UK	2,389	2,5
Portugal	2,15	2,3
Rest of the world	13,019	13,8
Total top 10	81,104	86,2
Total	94,123	100

In 2005 worldwide 94.123 MW have been installed. Germany is as in the previous years on the first place. In Europe 56,3% of the total capacity have been installed, what is considerably less than in the previous years.


Top 10 of the new installed capacities in the year 2007

Country	MW	%
USA	5,244	26,1
Spain	3,522	17,5
China	3,449	17,2
India	1,73	8,6
Germany	1,667	8,3
France	888	4,4
Italy	603	3
Portugal	434	2,2
UK	427	2,1
Canada	386	1,9
Rest of the world	1,726	8,6
Total top 10	18,35	91,4
Total	20,076	100

The value of the new installed capacities in the year 2007 amounted to over 20.000 MW, what represents an increase of 31% comapred to the previous year.