Wind Energy’s Carbon Footprint

In observing that “every type of energy has consequences,” Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke claimed the “carbon footprint on wind [energy] is significant.” In fact, wind power’s carbon footprint is among the smallest of any energy source.

Coal’s carbon footprint is almost 90 times larger than that of wind energy, and the footprint of natural gas is more than 40 times larger, according to the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Zinke also said wind energy kills “as many as 750,000 birds a year.” This estimate is high, but not impossible. However, oil fields could kill up to 1 million birds a year, according to the Bureau of Land