Aesthetics

• The most obvious problem with windmills that the general public sees is their negative aesthetics. The windmills disrupt the view with gray steel towers and loud, whooshing, turbine blades. This has resulted in "not in my backyard" (NIMBY) reactions akin to the kind felt toward nuclear reactors. Martha's Vineyard famously rejected an offshore wind farm that would have provided all its electrical power because it ruined the view.
  
  

Environmental Damage

• Windmills, while marketed as a "green" energy source, do have negative impacts on the environment. The blades on the turbine have become a flight hazards to birds, particularly if the wind farms are erected in migration paths. Additionally, the concrete anchoring layer for the larger windmills necessitate large excavations and destruction of underground burrows. Finally, offshore windmills require helicopters to perform even routine maintenance. Helicopters have large carbon footprints because of their gas turbine engines.
  
  

Variable Power Generating

• Windmills generate power only when the wind blows, but it does not blow constantly. When the wind is dead, no electricity is generated. For this reason, many municipalities are reluctant to invest in windmills because there is no guarantee of electricity production. Natural gas power plants are just as cheap as windmills but generate cheaper electricity.
  
  

Maintenance

• As previously mentioned, windmills have an associated maintenance burden. Windmills built on the ground need to be inspected for cracks and have their bearings greased regularly. These inspections require large crews to cover an entire wind farm. Offshore windmills have to be inspected via helicopter, both for torque cracks and corrosion. Furthermore, the subsurface supports have to be inspected by specialist divers. If there is any actual damage, special crane ships have to be deployed to fix any offshore windmills. All these special vehicles have large carbon footprints