Aesthetics and Ethics in Engineering Renewable Energy
Jillian Carlisle — February 3, 2024
When one thinks of ethics in engineering, they most likely think of engineers constructing something structurally sound, safe for the public, with purpose, and with the client’s intent in mind. The second, and seemingly less essential thoughts are how pieces of infrastructure affect the environment and the aesthetics of our world. It is known that creating a greener, cleaner society is an essential movement in most of the world, however, the priority is almost always human health and comfort. Our society does not want to give up the comforts and conveniences they are accustomed to, even if it is crucial to keeping the environment alive. Because of this, it is ethically essential to continue to massively expand renewable energy to allow people to continue to consume large amounts of energy without immense emissions. It is clear that carbon intensive energy sources have been negatively impacting the health and aesthetic value of our natural world, and that if we don’t move away from fossil fuels, it will only get irreversibly worse. However, most people do not want to see large amounts of infrastructure near their homes or in the natural environments they are fond of; they don’t want it to negatively impact the aesthetic value.
Aesthetics are an important part of our world, even what gives it value. In The Aesthetic Value of the World, the author explores the idea of aestheticism which attributes aesthetic value to everything in the natural world. Cochrane defines the significance of five aesthetic values and how they are related to practical human values; beauty, sublimeness, drama, tragedy, and comedy represent knowledge, empathy, sympathy, struggle, and vulnerability (Cochrane). This viewpoint strengthens the human connection with our natural world, but also adds layers of complexity to how to move forward in energy infrastructure. Aesthetics should not be lost in pursuit of the clean energy that is implemented to preserve aestheticism. The question is what type of renewable energy infrastructure should be built, and where, to optimize clean energy output and uphold aesthetic values.
A recent example of this dilemma is the investment in offshore wind farms off America’s Northeast coast. The two projects currently under construction are Vineyard Wind 1 which will have 800 MW of capacity off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and South Fork Wind Farm which will have 132 MW of capacity off the tip of Long Island. For context, 132 MW of offshore wind energy can power around 70,000 homes each day (“What Does Offshore Wind Energy Look Like Today?”). While these both will produce a large amount of clean energy to the surrounding areas, there is a lot of controversy involving the ethics environmentally and aesthetically (McDermott). Environmentalists are fighting against marine life impacts and the people fortunate enough to live on the coast are concerned about seeing wind turbines on the horizon.
To dive deeper into engineers and environmentalists perspective, valid concerns have been brought up about the impacts of renewable infrastructure on wildlife and their habitats. As a studying civil and environmental engineer myself, it is clear that every energy technology has its pros and cons. Although renewable energy sources can be land intensive and potentially harmful to some species in that surrounding population (few birds/bats can be effected by wind turbines and hydropower can affect fish migration, etc.), hydroelectric power, solar energy, and wind energy currently make up about 20% of total US electricity generation and are clean, reliable, and generally inexhaustible sources. The environmental complexities around renewables do not come near the damage fossil fueled energy causes to not just wildlife and their habitats alone, but also humans. First, the obvious impact of greenhouse gas emissions which are filling the atmosphere with excess amounts of carbon dioxide, warming the climate, melting glaciers, and acidifying the ocean causing irreversible damage to coastal climates. The warming climate also makes weather more intense, creating dangerous, extreme, and unpredictable weather events. All of this without even mentioning the destruction of habitats in the mining processes and toxicity of fossil fuel waste (Sanders). Renewable energy can be just as reliable and powerful as fossil fuels (if not more) while reversing the deterioration of the health and aesthetics of our environment.
In the case of the new offshore wind infrastructure in America’s Northeast, there are no proven destructive impacts on the marine environment. Studies conducted by US scientific agencies early last year show that noise, vibration, electromagnetic fields, and heat transfer from the wind infrastructure have potential to alter the environment. Long term studies in Europe tell the same story, the infrastructure and water environment changes (temperature and cloudiness of water) caused species that like the warmth and/or hard surfaces to move towards these areas and others to move away (Parry). Although there is no evidence of harm to species or surrounding ecosystems, people who value the coastline still have concerns about the aesthetics of the horizon being effected.
Long before offshore wind farms were an aesthetic concern, many types of other infrastructure have caused for controversy with people living near those areas. This concept is referred to as NIMBYism, or “not in my backyard” (Sanders). Most people do not have a problem with what is being built itself, as it will probably improve their quality of life, but don’t want to physically see it. As someone who grew up and continues to reside in Southern California, living near the ocean gives me a special appreciation for how impactful its magnitude and beauty are on the world. I can admit, I would be upset to see wind turbines on the horizon of my favorite beaches. While it is easy to fight against offshore and other renewable energy infrastructure, the growing population in California needs to sustain its energy needs along with reaching its climate goals. Planning the future for clean energy and the environment needs to be balanced with preserving aesthetic significance in our natural world.
Going back to Vineyard Wind 1 and South Fork Wind Farm, the thought and planning put into the location and magnitude of these projects exemplify the balance needed when approaching this type of essential infrastructure. Because the Northeast has little to no land to develop wind or solar farms, large ocean-based wind farms are crucial to move toward climate goals. Engineers were careful when deciding the specific locations of each of these projects. Vineyard Wind 1 is 15 miles South of Martha’s Vineyard and 35 miles from the mainland of Massachusetts while South Fork Wind is 35 miles East of Montauk Point (off the Eastern tip of Long Island) and a similar distance from the mainland of Rhode Island, which would make them barely visible from coastlines (Parry). A balance has to be kept between placing the turbines far enough from the shore in consideration of the aesthetics while making sure the location can maintain the structural integrity and can safely transmit the electricity to shore. Achieving aesthetics from the coastline is important to changing one’s perspective on NIMBYism; if the infrastructure is not too visibly impactful from the coast, it is more likely to get public support.
Public perception is crucial in making the expansion of renewable energy ethical. Humans highly value aesthetics because of the beauty, pureness, and harmony of the natural world. Looking deeper, it can be argued that aesthetics are essential in experiencing the world and life itself (Cochrane). Humans desire experiences that entail seeing unique and beautiful things, whether it is living near the beach or traveling the world. As aestheticism is integrated into the human existence, prioritizing aesthetics is not only ethical, but essential to getting society to care about climate mitigation and renewable energy.
Ultimately, engineers have the ethical responsibility to maintain aesthetics as much as environmental health. Keeping the balance between these two essential values is not an easy task as the infrastructure necessary to combat climate change is interfering with the exact aesthetic environments we are trying to preserve. To add to the complexity, every individual has environments they especially cherish, so what areas are ethical to add infrastructure on? The truth is, there is no place in the world that lacks aesthetic value, but a balance needs to be achieved. We as a society must come together understand the importance of expanding renewable energy while showing appreciation and conserving our natural environments.
WORKS CITED
Cochrane, Tom. Aesthetic Value of the World. Oxford University Press USA — OSO, 2022.
McDermott, Jennifer. “Decades after Europe, Turning Blades Send First Commercial Offshore Wind Power onto US Grid.” AP News, 7 Dec. 2023, apnews.com/article/offshore-wind-farm-orsted-eversource-biden-south-fork-new-york-a94722b3f4a52e93580ad15a2de257a0. Accessed 28 Jan. 2024.
Parry, Wayne. “As Us East Coast Ramps up Offshore Wind Power Projects, Much Remains Unknown.” AP News, 11 Sept. 2023, apnews.com/article/offshore-wind-turbines-orsted-fishing-new-jersey-36e8afbcfc4178611150aca5b9592e50. Accessed 28 Jan. 2024.
Sanders, Kelly T. “Power Generation.” 10 Oct. 2023.
“What Does Offshore Wind Energy Look Like Today?” Energy.Gov, www.energy.gov/eere/wind/articles/what-does-offshore-wind-energy-look-today#:~:text=While%20there%20are%20just%20two,construction%20started%20in%20early%202022. Accessed 28 Jan. 2024.
