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Advantage & Disadvantage of the Windmill

The technology of windmills has been used in Europe for hundreds of years and in China and Babylon for much longer. The medieval Europeans used the windmill primarily for grinding grain, which is where we get the word "windmill." Possible modern applications for wind technology include using wind turbines (the more modern term for windmill), to generate electricity. This concept has generated a lot of innovation as well as controversy.

Environmental Concerns
- Some wind farms are built on bird migratory paths.
  
  Wind turbines produce electricity without producing the same air pollution of a coal plant, the waste of a nuclear plant or the political controversy of imported petroleum. Ironically, possible disadvantages include the environmental damage that has been attached to wind farms. Building a wind farm permanently disturbs the local environment, and residents of areas near wind farms complain that the turbines are a hazard to local and migrating birds and that the noise that they generate is unacceptable.
Location and Efficiency
- More wind turbines means more efficiency.
  
  Wind farms are an ideal way to make remote but windy locations like rugged coastlines, isolated rural areas or mountaintops more productive. A wind farm consists of many towers built close together to generate more electricity more efficiently. However, this efficiency can be adversely affected by the unreliability of the wind itself. Even an area that is habitually windy will have the occasional calm day, and these days can be difficult to predict depending on the season and region.
Design
- An innovative wind turbine in Quebec, Canada.
  
  There have been a variety of innovations in wind turbine technology in recent years. In order to reduce the impact that constructing wind turbines has on the surrounding area and to be also to generate power even on days with less wind, scientists have developed wind turbines and windmills in a variety of sizes and shapes. The fan blades can be shaped and angled to take advantage of even the smallest breeze and have a pivotal head to face the wind all the time. These innovations will hopefully reduce the environmental concerns associated with wind energy.
Noise
- A high wind can be very noisy, and the noise generated by wind farms and turbines has been compared to the low, droning hum of a jet engine. This is not an issue when a wind farm is in an isolated area, but some wind farms are relatively close to the residential areas for which they are generating power. The noise generated by wind farms might not be life-threatening or even unhealthy but it is a major inconvenience and the source of many complaints against windmills and turbines.

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