Offshore wind farms attract tourists who want to see the “world’s largest rotating equipment.”

Except there’s mounting evidence that they do, at least sometimes. Some companies are now offering guided tours of the wind farm for curious tourists who want to see the workings and workings of the turbines up close. In Scotland, adventurous visitors can mountain bike and hike around an onshore wind farm, and boat tours in the UK and US offer the chance to sail right under the blades of a turbine. In Denmark, small groups can even climb an offshore facility themselves. While there is no data to pinpoint the size of this burgeoning segment of the hospitality industry, there is plenty of research to suggest that travelers are not only unfazed by wind farms, but also find them objects of fascination.

“They are the largest rotating devices on the planet. They put a 747 in the shade. They seem a bit otherworldly at sea,” says Jeremy Firestone, a professor at the University of Delaware, who visited a wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island with a group of students in 2016. He called the experience “like Disneyland for adults.”

The wind farm visited by Firestone, about four miles from Block Island, has been operational since 2016: it was the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. The tours began that same year and are now held about five times a year. Boat Captain Charlie Donilon, who helmed Firestone’s tour and still leads it today, complements the view with informative chatter about wind power and the construction of the giant turbines. Many of Donilon’s clients are academics interested in learning more about renewable energy, but some are pleasure seekers who plan to tour the wind farm in addition to lunch and a trip to the nearby lighthouse.

“I thought, ‘This is definitely going to be a moneymaker,'” says Donilon, comparing wind farms to America’s greatest infrastructure. “It is hard to believe that these gigantic structures were built by human hands. You could put them in the same category as the space shuttle or the Hoover Dam.”

Some people are naturally attracted to anything that spins, splashes, or pops. In Scotland, hydropower already has an 80-year history; Dams, while far from naturally beautiful, have become an attraction and resource for tourists and school groups. ‘Industrial tourism’ or, less charitably, ‘nerd tourism’ has also long drawn people to Britain’s factories, mines and canals.

“You couldn’t have gone to the big gas-fired power stations because they’re not really open, but this is an opportunity and people are interested in it,” says Simon Cleary, economics director at Scottish consultancy Biggar Economics.

Windy places are often already wild, beautiful places that depend economically on visitors. It is therefore particularly important to understand how tourists feel about visible turbines. Last year Biggar conducted a study to assess whether proposed onshore development in Wales, visible from 13th-century Caerphilly Castle, would affect visitor numbers. It turns out that attendance at Scotland’s Stirling Castle had increased by 60% since the construction of a similarly visible wind farm, a trend driven not by the turbines themselves but by ‘the wind turbines’ stranger effect,” a Starz TV historical drama that sparked interest in Scottish castles. Still, the view of modern turbines from the city walls didn’t seem to stop fans from imagining rolling hills populated by 18th-century Highland warriors.

“People are less sensitive to visual impact than you might think,” says Cleary.

Turbines closer to shore are more likely to deter beachgoers, although it’s harder to say whether people’s behavior is actually following survey results. “The economic impact is probably not that significant for communities,” says Firestone, who has co-authored studies on the subject. Another study last year by academics from Britain’s Oxford Brookes University found that the “overall impact on tourism appears relatively benign and sometimes positive,” although the cited report fears the novelty will fade as turbines become commonplace. It helps when offshore wind companies work in partnership with the local community and with businesses and invest in visitor centers and local staff over the long term.

“It really isn’t a monster”

One of the longest-running wind farm boat tours off the coast of Denmark near Copenhagen offers visitors a rare opportunity to actually go inside. The Middelgrunden wind farm, which consists of 20 turbines built in 2000, was then the world’s largest offshore wind farm and the first to be cooperatively owned – 10 turbines are owned by around 10,000 members of a cooperative and 10 are owned by that local utilities.

For a total cost of 12,900 kr ($1,853) per group, visitors are taken to a turbine where they climb 210 feet of internal ladders to reach the top and get a glimpse of 19 others that arc out into the distance . This is a unique opportunity as wind turbines built after 2009 tend to have elevators rather than ladders. These can only accommodate two people at a time, one of whom must be a professional operator, making such tours impossible.

Hans Christian Soerensen, civil engineer and one of the founders of the Middelgrunden project, first asked local skipper Alex Garavano to take people to the windmills two decades ago. Last year they conducted around 30 tours for up to 18 people each, during which Sörensen was available for questions and information.

One of the aims of the cooperative is to educate people about wind power. Soerensen, who also works as a consultant for wave and tidal power projects, says close interaction is key to combating public opposition. “People are afraid of what they don’t know,” he says. “I’ve seen that many, many times when we have new projects in regions where there are no wind turbines. That’s what we try to demonstrate here in Copenhagen when we have people over. It really isn’t a monster.” In particular, getting close to the turbines allays concerns about noise, which is often a major cause of concern.

Firestone says the interest in boat tours like these, as well as viewing turbines from shore on “curiosity rides,” could simply outweigh the negative impact of their construction. Onshore wind farm developers can also drive tourism by enhancing the local area and adding signage, hiking trails and mountain biking facilities – factors far more important to visitor numbers than simple appearance. Cleary points out that the Rampion offshore wind farm, completed in 2018, is visible from Brighton Pier, one of England’s most popular free tourist destinations. A proposed expansion of the farm now faces concerted local opposition, but the existing 116 turbines have not diminished interest in the English holiday town.

Paul Dyer, the owner and skipper of the Brighton Diver charter company, has been offering a boat tour since Rampion Farm opened. Many of his customers are locals who want to see and take a closer look at the turbines from the south coast every day. “It tends to turn tourists on,” he says. “There were a lot of people against it before they built it, and then everyone grew fond of it. It looks good – especially at night when it’s lit up.”

What is less well documented is whether other land-hungry renewable energy sources such as solar farms can harness the same effect. Individual solar panels are not the impressive size of a wind turbine, and the visual impact of rolling fields choked by gleaming panels evokes fierce resistance. In a letter to a local newspaper last month, the leader of a residents’ association begged planners not to approve a solar project on Britain’s Isle of Wight, citing the “breathtaking” views on offer to visitors. “This precious landscape is under threat,” she wrote. “Don’t kill our tourism golden goose.”

But there is also little evidence of these negative effects. Solar farms are often added to caravan parks and holiday villages in sunny places like Cornwall and Australia. Both South Korea and Vietnam have promoted solar energy projects as tourist destinations, and some companies are already thriving in solar tourism. In North Carolina, Montgomery Sheep Farm offers solar farm tours in addition to stargazing and working with animals. In southern England, the Westmill community solar and wind project has been offering public tours since 2008. In 2015 it was 10,000. welcome visitors.