It uses fewer non-renewable resources, causes less local or regional air pollution and makes virtually no contribution to the enhanced greenhouse effect . The towers themselves cover only a small land area, and farming activities can continue virtually up to the base, even under the revolving blades. A 600 kilowatt turbine would therefore require about 6000 square metres, or just over half a hectare. One problem with wind turbines is that that they produce a low-frequency drone, which increases with increasing wind speed. However, the remoteness of most windfarms means that noise isn't a major problem at most locations.
Critics also say that the modern windfarm is a blight on the landscape.
Social research has suggested that the perception of wind turbines as visual pollution depends on a number of factors. There may be other ways of avoiding disputes over the loss of scenic quality caused by windfarms. In the future, windfarms may be located 20-30 kilometres offshore, where their visual impact would be minimal. Their outputs would be brought to where it is needed by power cables. External sites are not endorsed by the Australian Academy of Science.