WIND IS GOOD FOR CROPS

Wind Turbines on Farmland May Benefit Crops; Researchers at the Ames Laboratory and the University of Colorado find that wind turbines help channel beneficial breezes over nearby plants
December 16, 2010 (Ames Laboratory/U.S. Department of Energy)

"Wind turbines in Midwestern farm fields may be doing more than churning out electricity. The giant turbine blades that generate renewable energy might also help corn and soybean crops stay cooler and dryer, help them fend off fungal infestations and improve their ability to extract growth-enhancing carbon dioxide [CO2] from the air and soil.

"…U.S. Department of Energy Ames Laboratory [researchers Gene Takle and Julie Lundquist have] preliminary findings of a months-long research program aimed at studying how wind turbines on farmlands interact with surrounding crops…[and have concluded] that wind turbines do produce measureable effects on the microclimate near crops…[by channeling] air downwards, in effect bathing the crops below via the increased airflow they create…"

From AmesLaboratory via YouTube

"Both Takle and Lundquist stressed that their early findings [incorporating lidar laser and anemometer measurements of wind speed and turbulence] have yet to definitively establish whether or not wind turbines are in fact beneficial to the health and yield potential of soybeans and corn planted nearby. However, their finding that the turbines increase airflow over surrounding crops, suggests this is a realistic possibility…

"…Crops warm up when the sun shines on them, and some of that heat is given off to the atmosphere. Extra air turbulence likely speeds up this heat exchange, so crops stay slightly cooler during hot days. On cold nights, turbulence stirs the lower atmosphere and keeps nighttime temperatures around the crops warmer…[and] possibly ward off early fall frosts and extend the growing season…"

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"…Extra turbulence may help dry the dew that settles on plants beginning in late afternoon, minimizing the amount of time fungi and toxins can grow on plant leaves…[and] drier crops at harvest help farmers reduce the cost of artificially drying corn or soybeans…[I]ncreased airflows could enable corn and soybean plants to more readily extract atmospheric CO2, a needed ‘fuel’ for crops. The extra turbulence might also pump extra CO2 from the soil. Both results could facilitate the crops ability to perform photosynthesis.

"Takle’s wind turbine predictions are based on years of research on so-called agricultural shelter belts, which are the rows of trees in a field, designed to slow high-speed natural winds…[He said] a wind turbine is nothing more than a tall tree with a well-pruned stem…The bulk of the wind-turbulence measurements and the crop-moisture, temperature and CO2 measurements took place in the spring of 2010…"