It has been labelled the Wind Rush by certain parts of the press, and like it or not, it seems to be headed to the UK.

The implementation of wind farms is the government’s latest environmental pet project and recent news coming from Brussels has highlighted the increasing need for wind power in the UK.

The EU released its Climate and Energy Strategy earlier this week, which calls for a 20% cut in greenhouse gasses in all member states by the year 2020.

This will mean that the UK will have to up its renewable energy supply from the current 5% to around 40% within the next twelve years.

This could pave the way for a huge influx of onshore and offshore wind farms, as wind technology is the most developed thus far.

But not everyone is convinced that wind farms are the best solution to the renewable energy problem.

Amongst some of the complaints raised by action groups, it has been suggested that poorly situated turbines are actually harmful to the environment.

At first glance it seems like a paradoxical statement; Wind Farms are created in effort to help the environment, cut down harmful emissions and create a sustainable source of energy.

Although this is true, the case against wind power is slowly gathering momentum and the little seen negative side to the argument is starting to rear its ugly head.

Last weeks events on the hebridean island of Lewis highlighted continual concerns about wildlife living around wind turbines. 

The area is home to large numbers of rare breeding birds such as the Greenshank and Golden Eagle.

It is feared that the birds may be killed if they get caught in the machines’ giant rotor blades. 

Parts of Lewis are protected by the EU rare birds directive and this protection can only be overruled if a project is ‘of overwhelming national interest’ and if an alternative site cannot be found.    

Whether the project is vital enough remains to be seen, but there is certainly a valid argument for those who think that the wind turbines would be equally efficient elsewhere.

The government intends to site most of the proposed wind farms offshore, and although they are more expensive to set up, they have a higher level of energy efficiency and recoup the money back quicker than land-based turbines.

Not only are the onshore turbines bad news for birds, they are not altogether great news for people living nearby.

Apart from creating an eyesore and causing substantial noise pollution, they are also alleged to reduce the property value of nearby homes.

There are now 156 UK based anti wind farm groups, with the biggest being Country Guardian, who have been actively campaigning against wind turbines since the first one went online in 1991.

They say that as well as being an environmental catastrophe, wind turbines are costly to maintain and electricity produced by this method is more expensive than by alternative means.

They suggest that the money spent would be better put into energy conservation and research for other means of renewable energy.

The findings of the DTI Energy Advisory Panel show that the wind only provides enough energy to power these turbines between 35% and 40% of the time.

The paradox here is that this would potentially mean the creation of more traditional ‘gas powered’ stations to provide a backup.

The truth is that wind farms are a money spinner and that as well as receiving a green stamp of approval from the EU and Kyoto, energy companies will also receive a huge subsidy to help run the turbines.

Over half a billion pounds has been invested in wind energy since 1991, but so far it has only returned that investment by providing a meagre 0.5% of our countries energy needs.The EU strategy has put the government under considerable pressure to cut greenhouse gasses, and the proposals for more wind turbines may be a knee jerk reaction.It may tick all the right boxes as a clean and sustainable energy source, but the sums don’t necessarily add up.Solar, Geothermal and Tidal power are all legitimate alternatives that are being somewhat overlooked as the government scrambles desperately for a quick fix solution to a potentially long-term problem.