The dark sides of wind power

Eleanor Tillinghast, North Adams Transcript, January 26, 2005

[Reprinted with permission of the author. Two paragraphs were cut from the newspaper version due to space considerations, and have been restored here.]

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Noise may not be your first concern when looking at wind turbines, but, for neighbors, it is tormenting. Dave Pevec, who lives more than a quarter-mile from the Waymart wind power plant in rural Pennsylvania, complains that the noise keeps him awake at night.

“It sounds like an airport…my peace is gone forever.”[1]

Lou Orehek, whose family lives nearby, says, “It is the opinion of members of my family that the windmills generate a low frequency ‘grind’…and this noise travels more than 7,000 feet.”[2]

In New York, Pastor Kathleen Danley lives two good-sized fields from the Fenner wind power plant, and describes the noise as “a loud clothes dryer; that would probably be the closest sound, that constant turning sound.”[3]

She explains, “We were told that the windmills had been redesigned so as not to be noisy, but the grinding noise goes on 24 hours a day (when they are operating) and at times is far worse than other times.”[4]

In Michigan, Kelly Alexander lives a quarter-mile from the Mackinaw City turbines. The low frequency sound creates a drumming that penetrates the walls of his home. Even with doors and windows tightly closed, there is no way to escape it. His 80-year-old mother lives next door. The noise keeps her awake at night.[5]

Sister Chris at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, more than a mile to the north, says that when the turbines are started up, she can hear a loud whoosh that is startling.[6]

In West Virginia, Paula Stahl describes hiking up to the Mountaineer turbines. “The noise was incredible. It surprised me. It sounded like airplanes or helicopters. And it traveled. Sometimes you could not hear the sound standing right under one, but you heard it 3,000 yards down the hill, where the wind carried the sound.”[7]

Waymart and Fenner have 1.5-megawatt General Electric turbines like the ones planned for the Hoosac wind power plant in the towns of Florida and Monroe, Massachusetts. The Mountaineer turbines are the same size.[8] The Mackinaw turbines are slightly smaller.[9]

Sunlight strobing through spinning wind-turbine blades is also distressing to neighbors. “When the sun is setting, it shines through the blades, causing severe flashing in our house,” complains a homeowner near the Lincoln wind power plant in Wisconsin.

“We get a ‘strobe effect’ throughout our house and over our entire property (40 acres),” says a neighbor. Others add, “shadows are cast over the ground and affect my balance,” and “shadows from the blades sweep over our house and yard and ruin our quality of life.”[10]

Physical reactions are pronounced. In England, where the effects of wind power plants have been widely documented, Dave Brierley, a former policeman living in Cumbria, says, “I live 1,000 meters south of the wind farm and my wife, who is asthmatic, gets very distressed when the wind is coming from the north because she can feel her breathing trying to synchronize with the thump of the blades."[11]

A newspaper article titled Wind farms ‘make people sick who live up to a mile away’ reports on the findings of Dr. Amanda Harry: All but one of 14 people living near a wind power plant in Cornwall have experienced increased numbers of headaches, and 10 said that they have had problems sleeping, and suffered from anxiety.

She says, “People demonstrated a range of symptoms from headaches, migraines, nausea, dizziness, palpitations and tinnitus to sleep disturbance, stress, anxiety and depression.”[12]

People living near wind turbines aren’t the only ones affected. Constantly flashing lights on turbine hubs can be seen for miles. One observer of the Waymart facility describes “the multitude of red blinking aircraft warning lights that now trace across the ridge top at night.”[13]

Around the Lincoln wind turbines, some people complain that they ruin the night sky with their flashing red lights.[14] Of the Montfort wind power plant in Wisconsin, which has twenty 1.5-megawatt G.E. turbines just like Hoosac, a person writes, “You see them from far away, lights and all.”[15] People describe seeing the Waymart turbines 10 to 15 miles away.[16] The Fenner turbines can be seen 25 miles away.[17]

Federal law requires Enxco to fit the 20 Hoosac turbines with flashing white lights during the day, and flashing red lights at night.[18]

What about the effect on property values? Despite claims by wind power supporters that turbines have no depressive effect on nearby home sales, there’s a lot of evidence to the contrary in areas where the landscape is the attraction. At a public meeting on Enxco’s proposal for a wind power plant in Lowell, Vt., a realtor trying to sell a farm near the site told a company representative that his assertion that land values won't decrease is ‘ludicrous.’ Don Maclure said that when he tells people interested in buying the farm about the proposed project he never hears from them again.[19]

In England, newspaper articles highlight the problem with such titles as Wind turbines made our home unsellable,[20] Wind farms stunt growth of property value,[21] and Potential losses could run into millions.[22]

Kyle Blue, a real-estate agent in Cumbria, reports that when his company auctioned a farmhouse a half-mile from proposed turbines, it fetched nearly 30% less than its valuation before the plans were announced. Another farmhouse attracted a buyer who said the wind power plant wouldn't bother him because he was keen on renewable energy. "Then he went away, did some research and changed his mind," says Mr. Blue.[23] In the Lake District, a judge ruled that a wind power plant reduced the value of a home 1,780 feet away by 20%.[24]

People in Florida and Monroe voted for the Hoosac project before they had a chance to learn about its effects. Their neighbors on Tilda Hill Road and nearby areas will undoubtedly suffer

Sportsmen and hikers will notice the noise, vibration, sun strobing, and flashing lights. Snowmobilers and skiers will risk ice hurled from spinning blades.[25]

Residents of Clarksburg, North Adams, and Williamstown will be unable to escape the visual blight of the magnificent Hoosac range. How will the towns of Florida and Monroe compensate all those people for the damage to their quality of life?

[1] Peter Becker, “Impact of windmills addressed at public forum,” Wayne Independent, 11/20/03, http://www.WayneIndependent.com

[2] Letter to the editor from Lou Orehek, “Wind farms have many drawbacks,” Berkshire Eagle, 1/11/04, http://www.BerkshireEagle.com

[3] Denise A. Raymo, “Wind-farm impact a matter of perspective,” Press Republican, 11/21/04, http://www.pressrepublican.com/Archive/2004/11_2004/112120043a.htm

[4] Letter to the editor from Pastor Kathleen Danley, “Against the wind: In Fenner, wind farm developers made and broke many promises,” Naples Record, 11/3/04, http://www.greenberkshires.org/wind_power_postings/aganst_the_wind.html;
Denise A. Raymo, “Wind-farm impact a matter of perspective,” Press Republican, 11/21/04, http://www.pressrepublican.com/Archive/2004/11_2004/112120043a.htm

[5] http://www.pbase.com/wp/image/38977739

[6] After this article was published, Sister Chris reconsidered the source of the noise she had been hearing and said it may not have been from the Mackinaw City wind turbines.

[7] Letter from Paula Stahl, 4/4/04, http://www.greenberkshires.org/wind_power_postings/stahl_letter.html

[8] The 20 turbines at Fenner, New York, are the Enron TZ 1.5 model. Enron’s turbine manufacturing business was bought by General Electric. The 43 turbines of the Waymart plant on Moosic Mountain in Pennsylvania are GE Wind 1.5 MW. The 44 turbines of the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center on Backbone Mountain in West Virginia are NEG Micon 1.5 MW. [http://www.awea.org/projects/newyork.html; http://www.awea.org/projects/pennsylvania.html; http://www.awea.org/projects/westvirginia.html]

John Zimmerman, Enxco’s head of East Coast operations, has acknowledged that “wind turbines don’t make good neighbors.” [Robin Smith, “Wind Towers Spark Debate,” Caledonian-Record, 7/1/03, http://www.CaledonianRecord.com/pages/local_news/story/c2296e810]

[9] http://www.pbase.com/wp/image/38977739

[10] Kabes, David E., and Crystal Smith, “Comments for the Lincoln Township Wind Turbine Survey,” Lincoln Township Wind Turbine Survey, Agricultural Resource Center, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, 5/15/01.

[11] “Giant blades are slicing prices,” Daily Telegraph, 10/20/04, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2004/10/20/pwind17.xml&sSheet=
/property/2004/10/20/ixpmain17.html

[12] Catherine Milner, “Wind farms ‘make people sick who live up to a mile away,’” Daily Telegraph, 1/25/04, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2004%2F01%2F25%2Fnwind25.xml

Similar problems have been found by Dr. Bridget Osborne, a doctor in Moel Maelogan, a village in North Wales, where three turbines were erected in 2002. She had an article in the newsletter of the Royal College of General Practitioners detailing a ‘marked’ increase in depression among local people.

"There is a public perception that wind power is 'green' and has no detrimental effect on the environment,” says Dr Osborne. “However, these turbines make low-frequency noises that can be as damaging as high-frequency noises. When wind farm developers do surveys to assess the suitability of a site they measure the audible range of noise but never the infrasound measurement - the low-frequency noise that causes vibrations that you can feel through your feet and chest…There are those on whom there is virtually no effect, but others for whom it is incredibly disturbing.”

Residents of Moel Maelogan welcomed the first round of turbines, but are now fighting an expansion of the facility.

[Catherine Milner, “Wind farms ‘make people sick who live up to a mile away,’” Daily Telegraph, 1/25/04, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2004%2F01%2F25%2Fnwind25.xml;
“Small windfarm’s growth opposed,” BBC News, 4/30/03, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/2988907.stm]

[13] Letter to the editor from Lou Orehek, “Wind farms have many drawbacks,” Berkshire Eagle, 1/11/04, http://www.BerkshireEagle.com

[14] Associated Press, “Wind turbines draw complaints from some nearby neighbors,” Beloit Daily News, 9/27/99, http://www.BeloitDailyNews.com/articles/1999/09/27/export69176.txt

[15] lizs 01:34:59 PM 08/08/02, http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/15592,-1,1.php

[16] Peter Becker, “Windmills Seen Far And Wide,” Wayne Independent, 8/21/03, http://www.WayneIndependent.com

[17] Carl Stone, “Winds of Change,” Fenner Windmills Brochure, http://MadisonCounty.org/PressRelease/Windmills.htm

[18] http://www.faa.gov/ats/ata/ai/AC70_7460_1K.pdf; Letter from Lawrence J. Gallo, P.E., Manager of Airport Engineering, Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission, to Todd Presson, Project Manager, Hoosac Wind, LLC, RE: MAC Airspace Review 03-AQW-V0340-03, 2/10/04; Hill Engineers, Architects, Planners, Inc. Special Permit Application for enXco Incorporated: Hoosac Wind Project, Florida / Monroe, Mass., 10/6/03, p. 9.

John Zimmerman, Enxco’s head of East Coast operations has admitted: “Any place we are looking to be in, you can see from a long way away. There’s no real hiding them." [Robin Smith, “Wind Towers Spark Debate,” Caledonian-Record, 7/1/03, http://www.CaledonianRecord.com/pages/local_news/story/c2296e810]

[19] Steve Blake, “Public discussion begins on Lowell wind project,” The Chronicle, 9/24/03, http://www.LowellWind.com/images/photos/lowell/Chronicle_092403.pdf

[20] Sharen Green, “Wind turbines made our home unsellable,” Daily Echo, 1/22/04, http://www.dartdorset.org/DE%20220104%20WINDFARMS%20MADE%20OUR%20HOUSE%20UNSELLABLE.pdf

[21] Rupert Jones, ““Wind farms stunt growth of property value,” The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1343975,00.html

[22] Letter to the editor from Howard Roberts, “Potential losses could run into millions,” Western Morning News, 3/16/04, http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk

[23] “Giant blades are slicing prices,” Telegraph, 10/20/04, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2004/10/20/pwind17.xml&sSheet=
/property/2004/10/20/ixpmain17.html

[24] Ross Clark, “An Ill wind blowing,” Telegraph, 2/14/04, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml;sessionid=24W342ROMB2Z1QFIQMGSM54AVCBQWJVC?
xml=/property/2004/02/14/pfarm14.xml&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=28228

[25] Here is a reprint of an email about ice throw at Searsburg, written by John Zimmerman to an American Wind Energy Association listserv in 2000. Mr. Zimmerman managed the development of the Searsburg facility:

“I’ve watched over the wind turbines GMP has had installed in Vermont over the last 10 years and have several thoughts that be useful to this discussion.

 Here in Vermont, and elsewhere in the northeastern US, the winds blow strongest at the mountain tops, where it is also the most icy. A common first question to wind developers in this region is ‘why don’t you put the wind turbines at the ski areas (where there already is human development)'? The answer is because of the danger to public safety due to ice throws. Ski areas are not a good place for wind turbines.

 Back in the mid 1980s one of the windy areas that was being considered for wind development was near to ski trails. Boeing and/or Hamilton Standard did some work to determine how far we must stay away from the ski trails to be safe from ice being thrown from their turbines (the MOD 5b was the boeing machine at the time). Without going back to dig up those papers, and if I remember correctly, the distance was between .25 and .5 miles away, downwind. It’s a function of blade tip speed, so applicable to present day turbines too.

 While the Boeing study was academic, the danger from ice being release from rotor blades overhead is real – and a hard hat is not going to provide you with much comfort. I have stood near the turbines GMP had on Mt. Equinox in the early 1990s and more recently the Zond 500 KW turbines in Searsburg Vt during and after icing events. When there is heavy rime ice build up on the blades and the machines are running you instinctually want to stay away. They roar loudly and sound scarey. Probably you would feel safe within the .5 mile danger zone however.

 One time we found a piece near the base of the turbines that was pretty impressive. Three adults jumping on it couldn’t break. It looked to be 5 or 6 inches thick, 3 feet wide and about 5 feet long. Probably weighed several hundred pounds. We couldn’t lift it. There were a couple of other pieces nearby but we wondered where the rest of the pieces went.

 In the winter, icing is a real danger and GMP therefore restricts public access to the site(s). Maintenance workers have developed a protocol for working on turbines during icing conditions, though I am not familiar with the details. I'll 'dig into it' if you want. [Email from John Zimmerman, VERA, to listsaver-egroups-awea-windnet@egroups.com, Thu, 20 Jan 2000 10:51:43 -0500.]