Tilting at windmills/are we fools about wind energy being 'green'?

Interesting article in this week's AgWeek about the amount of energy the large turbines consume. They did not even mention the energy it takes, one semi per blade, the energy used to build and erect them, the huge hole made in the earth, the road that is made to get to each turbine and the rare earth minerals that are possibly as hard to safely dispose of as nuclear waste.
They mentioned that each turbine has a number of rechargeable batteried to keep things working when there is no wind., aircraft lights, brakes, blade control and weather instrumentation. If it is calm for an extended period of time, the batteries must be recharged off the grid.
Heaters must be in place in the turbines that are in cold climates as well as built in heaters to ward off icing, this could consume up to 20% of the energy produced.
Motors, even when the wind is not blowing the blades must have some movement to prevent grooving of the bearings on the main shaft.
Turbine manufacturers do not report the amount of energy consumed internally or purchased externally.
The author is quoted as saying "We have commissioned so many wind turbines that we will need to build new coal fired plants to run them".
The unnamed author of the original article is the editor of an unnamed mechanical engineering periodical. The article in Agweek is by Cole Gustafson from NDSU extension service who does not agree with all the points made in the article.

I am for wind energy if each farm and home can have a small windmill or two, but these big wind farms are so big and expensive it is questionable they are really sustainable.