Myths about Noise, Health, & Safety
Wind turbines are machines that spin in the wind and generate electricity atop tall towers. As such, the blades, transmission, and generator emit noise when the turbine is operating. Because modern wind turbines are relatively new on the landscape, a veritable cottage industry has arisen attributing a panoply of ills to wind turbines–even when they are not operating. Consequently, there are numerous studies on the health effects of the noise from wind turbines. This section includes links to these studies and to reports on the general environmental impacts and benefits of wind energy.
NHMRC: Evidence on Wind Farms and Human Health released for public comment
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The draft Information Paper provides a summary of the available scientific evidence. Based on the evidence, the paper concludes that “there is no reliable or consistent evidence that wind farms directly cause adverse health effects in humans.”
Study finds no evidence wind turbines make you sick – again
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Simon Chapman
This report takes the number of reviews published on the issue since 2003 to 20. And all have reached the same broad conclusions.
Wind energy health concerns fail the test of law, repeatedly
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Mike Barnard
Since 1998 there have been 45 hearings held under rules of legal evidence in at least five English-speaking countries and four types of courts regarding wind energy, noise and health. Forty-four assessed the evidence and found no potential for harm to human health, and the sole outlier is an instructive but unique case.
Onshore Wind Energy Potential in Germany: UBA’s Study Includes Setbacks
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Paul Gipe
The UBA study found 13.8% of land area suitable for wind energy; 49,000 km2, and that with contemporary wind turbines there is the astonishing 1,200,000 MW capable of generating 2,900 TWh/yr. This is nearly five times Germany’s current consumption of electricity. The study was done by Fraunhofer-Institute for Wind Energy in Kassel (IWES).
Anti-wind Experts: a species that is actually endangered by wind energy
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Mike Barnard
Over the past five years, a few anti-wind campaigners with credentials unrelated to wind energy and its purported effects on humans have attempted to bootstrap themselves into the role of expert witnesses on a variety of subjects that they are not qualified to speak about in civil suits, Environmental Review Tribunals in Canada and Environment, Resources and Development proceedings in Australia. They haven’t fared well. This post details the failures to gain expert status and have evidence admitted of the following non-expert ‘experts’:
RenewEconomy: Wind farm noise complainants and anti-wind groups: how many, how large?
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Simon Chapman
As blogger Ketan Joshi has observed, unlike any other disease “wind turbine syndrome” seems to be a health problem that occurs mainly in English-speaking countries.
