Greening the Wind : Environmental
and Social Considerations for Wind Power Development

This report identifies good practices
for managing the key environmental and social issues
associated with wind power development and provides advice
on how best to address these issues in project planning,
construction, and operation and maintenance. It provides
detailed background information on wind power, with special
focus on two emerging themes of growing scientific and
public interest: namely the biodiversity-related impacts and
the broader socioeconomic and cultural dimensions of wind
power development. Like wind power itself, the scope of this
report is worldwide although special attention is paid to
the issues characteristic of the Latin America and Caribbean
(LAC) region. While the principal focus is on land-based
wind power, it also briefly addresses the environmental and
social impacts related to off shore wind development. Wind
power today is widely regarded as a key component of an
environmentally sustainable, low-carbon energy future
because it is renewable, requires almost no water, and
generates near-zero emissions of greenhouse gases and other
pollutants. In many parts of the world, wind power has the
potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from electric power generation, thereby helping to
limit the severe environmental and social consequences of
human-induced climate change. The growth of wind power has
also occurred due to its other positive attributes,
including growing economic competitiveness. The adverse
biodiversity-related impacts of wind power facilities mainly
involve birds, bats, and natural habitats.