Wind Energy has a proven safety record. Fatal accidents in the wind industry have been related to construction and maintenance work only. Read more about wind turbine safety in the Guided Tour section. Reliable Wind turbines only produce energy when the wind is blowing, and energy production varies with each gust of wind. The variable forces acting on a wind turbine throughout its expected lifetime of 120,000 operating hours could be expected to exert significant tear and wear on the machine.
Turbines therefore have to be built to very exacting industrial standards.
High quality modern wind turbines have an availability factor above 98 per cent, i.e. the turbines are on average operational and ready to run during more than 98 per cent of the hours of the year. This availability factor is beyond any other electricity generating technology. Modern wind turbines only require a maintenance check every six months. Sparingly Wind turbines and access roads occupy less than one per cent of the area in a typical wind park. The remaining 99 per cent of the land can be used for farming or grazing, as usual.