Social media posts are full of hot air in claiming wind turbines take years of operation to make up for the energy needed to manufacture them.

“The turbine has to spin continually for over 4 years just to replace the energy it took to manufacture it. Most turbine blades last 3 to 7 years,” it states.

Prof Cleveland co-authored a meta-analysis on the net energy return of wind power systems which found the energy return of investment, the ratio of energy delivered to energy costs, placed wind favourably in comparison to other technologies such as fossil fuels and nuclear.

“The average life of wind turbine blades is 18 to 25 years, with 20 years as a widely used industry standard,” Prof Cleveland told AAP FactCheck.

The claim wind turbines take at least four years to recoup the energy used to create them is false. It typically takes about six months for turbines to recoup the energy costs of making them.