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.
Wind farm scare tactics blown away
By
Coral Wynter
There have been 17 reviews of the evidence about wind farms and health published internationally. Each of these reviews have concluded that wind turbines can annoy a minority of people who live near them, but there is no strong evidence that they make people ill.
Wind Farm Noise Complaints Downunder Related to Aesthetic Concerns
By
Paul Gipe
In an interesting study by an Australian consulting company, the acousticians found that complaints about noise were directly related to the attitude of receptors toward the perceived aesthetic impact of the wind farms.
Wind Energy Setbacks & Noise Complaints in Alberta 2000-2013
By
Paul Gipe
A recent study by the Pembina Institute found that there have been only six complaints about wind energy in the province during the 12-year period surveyed.
Enterprise-Bulletin: Judge awards costs to wind company
By
Morgan Ian Adams
“It is erroneous to interpret the reasons as establishing a precedent for the degree of proof required to establish a decrease in property values in these circumstances,” wrote Justice Healey in her decision. “…this court was invited to, and did, engage in a legal fiction in order to cast the plaintiffs’ case in its most favorable light. That legal fiction involved accepting, without requiring the plaintiffs to prove, that they were currently experiencing a decrease in their property values as a result of the announcement of the wind project.
Pembina: Study finds Albertans file few complaints about wind power
By
Benjamin Thibault
No other province in Canada has a longer history with wind energy than Alberta, which has 20 years of experience with utility-scale wind farms. Yet, unlike some parts of the country, we don’t tend to hear much about it, so my colleagues and I wondered whether, in fact, we were just missing something.
New Western study suggest winds of change may be blowing for wind turbines
By
Jamie Baxter from Western’s Department of Geography and his team explore the conundrum that while a relatively strong majority of rural Ontarians actually living with turbines in their farming communities (69 per cent) support them, the level of positive feedback in the control community was surprisingly low (25 per cent).
