Dr. David Colby doesn’t doubt that some people are bothered by the noise generated by a wind turbine, but the acting medical officer of health for Chatham-Kent says there’s no direct link between wind turbine noise and health problems. . .
Wind Noise, Health, & Safety
On Noise from Wind Turbines and Wild Claims
opposition to wind farms on the basis of potential adverse health consequences is not justified by the evidence. . .
Based on these findings, [the British] Government does not consider there to be a compelling case for further work into AM [Aerodynamic Modulation] and will not carry out any further research at this time; however it will continue to keep the issue under review. . .
There is no one setback from residences for large wind turbines in California. Setbacks are regulated by individual counties. In 2006, the University of California at Davis did a survey of setback requirements in California. Note that the setbacks range from ~100 m to 300 m.
First, they raise questions about the role of wind as a source of electricity against America’s main source of electric power today – coal, much of which is mined and burned in Appalachia. Second, disputes over wind farms there clearly show the hand of the same right-wing think tanks that provided cover to the tobacco industry in the ’70s and ’80s when science showed that cigarettes caused cancer and later to oil companies and car makers when global warming became an issue.
In 25 years of wind generation, with 68,000 turbines now worldwide, there are no significant reports of health issues. This includes Denmark, whose turbine density is 30 times that of the UK.
The Measurement of Low Frequency Noise at Three UK Wind Farms–Of the 126 wind farms operating in the UK, five have been reported low frequency noise problems. Therefore, such complaints are the exception rather than a general problem which exists for all wind farms.
Note: The graphics to this article were lost when my original web site crashed in the fall of 2022. For … Read more
Excerpted from Wind Energy Comes of Age by Paul Gipe, John Wiley & Sons, Inc New York (1995), … Read more
