I know everyone wants a conspiracy theory, but I do not see it. Maybe I am the only one geeky enough to read the technical studies and there are a lot available on line. But I have not seen any "spin doctors" or windfarm objectors suggesting we should be up in arms that our sport is going to be ruined. In fact almost everything posted about downwind effects are from people in the wind industry or supporters of wind energy looking to improve the industry and limit the downfalls. I have not come across any "objectors" use this argument. Their objections focus on cost, scale, and reliability. One of the biggest concerns for the wind industry is siting a large multi-billion dollar farm on a leased ocean lot. They definitely want to know what the effects are of being downwind of a neighbor farm. A developer wants to design the turbines, space the turbines, and shape the field to have minimal effects on their farm and the surrounding environment. So that is where a lot of studies are from. The study on upwelling was done by a Danish meteorologist, and pointed out both possible positive and negative benefits. The other studies from NOAA are real interest into possible downstream climatic change. But almost all of these studies show that there is still a lot of unknowns, and as farms get bigger and bigger they need to be understood.Right so how do windfarm objectors get windsports people to be concerned about windfarms ? easy, some spin doctor in an office decides to spread unfounded rumours to the windsports world that them pesky windfarms are going to ruin the wind therefore your sport? Hence the bullshit about windfarms disturbing the wind for a distance that common sense and science tells us is a much smaller distance.
The scientist seem to be suggesting the opposite, that the downwind effects may be bigger than our "common sense" would let us believe and that it needs to be understood and mitigated.The time is right for this kind of research so that, before we take a leap, we make sure it can be done right. We want to identify the best way to sustain an explosive growth in wind energy over the long term. Wind energy is likely to be a part of the solution to the atmospheric carbon dioxide and the global warming problem. By identifying impacts and potential mitigation strategies, this study will contribute to the long-term sustainability of wind power.