I will need to do more digging I to the issue. I have heard these claims, I just haven't seen the sauce. I know a city I grew up near was the first to put them up in Utah & have powered their city for almost 20 years this way with canyon winds that are always blowing.

My brother did accounting for a company who had an owner that did expert testimony on wind power as a civil engineer IIRC. I had asked that owner why there weren't more of them around & he kept a pretty good discussion about government being a hindrance to good locations in some areas & demanding a useless windmill(s) in other areas. He was a math based guy & facts were where he wanted those discussions kept. I never heard him say anything about windmills being a bad investment when used the right way, or about the parts not being able to be recycled/needing to be dumped. Granted this guy designed them from the ground up & the time I heard him talking about creap parts instead of good aluminum would come back to bite his client was in reference to this issue. No idea, but I will see if my brother still has their contact info so I can ask them.