Let me be so arrogant as to suggest that nature may even be helped. Incredible to me, is the "visual blight" argument against wind turbines, for instance. I see them transforming a barren seascape into a thing of beauty. And the bases of the turbines can be designed to serve as artificial reefs - a benign production of power while providing refuge for multiple aquatic species.
As they say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Many would argue that there is no barren seascape.
I suggest that they find ways to place the wind and solar generation units in urban areas. There are 3 main benefits to this. First, the landscape will not be impacted (it looks like $#(( now). Secondly, it will prevent impact to our vanishing rural landscapes. The final and perhaps most important reason is that it will reduce the cost of energy transmission to the consumers. The savings created by locating the generators in urban area will come from the reduction in energy lost when transmitting energy over long distances, reduction in the amount of materials needed to transmit energy (wires, poles, etc.).
The construction of facilities in water is never benign! Every activity has an effect upstream, downstream, and at the location. Therefore the construction of artificial reefs may provide significant benefits and disadvantages simultaneously.
