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Wind Power: A Quiet Solution to Climate Change
Jun
27
2011
Is the fear and anxiety being spread about the sound of wind power justified?
We asked a tough question today: Is the fear and anxiety being spread about the sound of wind power justified?
In an age when people fit subwoofers into their Honda civics, buy pickup trucks with 'tuned exhaust' noise and watch movies with ear crushing seven-speaker surround sound, one has to admit that our society isn't exactly aiming for quiet.
Wind energy is now the fastest growing source of electricity worldwide. However, in some places where new windmills are being proposed, people are worried that they might be bothered by the sounds they make. In Ontario especially, folks are increasingly uneasy about how loud new windmills might be.
For better or for worse, we have adapted to a life of auditory extremes. Whether you live in the country or in the city, chances are you have adapted to some kind of noise every day. Tires on a road, two-stroke whines from snowmobiles, motorcycles and jet-skis, diesel trucks, barking dogs, neighbours, airplanes, trains, music, construction, air conditioners, refrigerators, dishwashers, power tools -- the list of human created sounds is endless.
It's a bit confusing then that one of quieter things we build -- windmills -- are said to be the subject of great handwringing and upset.
When you step back and think about it, renewable energy is actually one of the more benign things in our society. It doesn't pollute our air, it doesn't poison our water, and compared to pretty much everything else, let's be honest -- it's not very loud either.
New designs of windmill blades are getting quieter all the time, and will continue to improve. Plus, there are minimum setbacks in place which set the distance that windmills must be built from the nearest home or workplace to ensure that noise isn't an issue.
In the difficult task of protecting the environment and our health for current and future generations, windmills are an important tool. Sited appropriately while ensuring real involvement for local communities, they will help protect both.
Put in perspective, windmills aren't one of our problems, but are in fact an important solution. And, as you'll see in this video we made, life is loud... windmills, not so much.
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Jun
29
2011
Great point
Britta Hansen says:
What an excellent rebuttal to a common argument. No doubt, as loud as win mills may be, they are not nearly as loud as gas-guzzling automobiles, honking horns and rattling streetcars.
Jun
30
2011
THE VALUE OF THESE VIDEOS
Richard Tyssen says:
While I believe the problem of noise from wind turbines has been overstated, these videos don't provide much value on either side of the argument I think. A video microphone is not a scientific instrument. I don't think this will be very persuasive to those who are raising concerns about wind turbines. What we need is a comprehensive scientific study with wind turbine opponents and supporters both involved in the design and structure of the study. The results of such a study would help settle this issue, which is bothering even supporters like me. At the moment I do not feel I have a definitive rebuttal to those who complain about low level vibrations, infrasound, and other such issues. Health effects are hard to use as evidence, since these can just as well be a result of anxiety over expected effects, even if they don't exist.
On a related point, the aesthetics of wind turbines is entirely subjective as far as I can see, so I think aesthetic arguments do not hold much weight. I think power lines, superhighways, motorcycles, shopping malls, etc., etc. are pretty ugly (and noisy), but we tolerate these.
May
13
2012
wind turbines
Karen Pottruff says:
Wind turbines come in different sizes. Around the Toronto area, they are relatively small. About one year ago, when I was driving through the Windsor-Chatham area on highway 401, I noticed huge turbines in farmers' fields. I don't know how much noise or vibration these big mills are making. They are rather awesome to see.
Jun
30
2011
I've read first hand
dree says:
I've read first hand experiences of people who live very close to windmills and they do have a problem with the noise - but what do they know! And sadly windmills kill thousands of birds every year.....far, far more than tailing ponds ever have. But hey why deal with facts? Could you also give us the names of your financial supporters and which countries they come from please? Why is it ok for American groups to support you? But NRA has an opinion about the long gun registry and a % of the Canadian population have a heart attack. Why the double standard? When we were taught in school to question everything, research, research, don't take anybody's word...well sadly many opinions on this website would suggest otherwise. Get the whole story people!!
Jul
14
2011
NIMBY facts vs real facts
KMC says:
Once again the environmental groups butt heads with fossil fuel producers, this time over a real threat to their money going to alternative energy. As for your bird killing "fact":
aprox. 550 million birds die each year flying into buildings like skyscrapers, but also houses. That's 58.2% of avian deaths. The next highest killer is ! Power lines! killing aprox. 130 million birds, or 13.7%. Yes birds also flying into or are killed by cars, cats, pesticides, wind turbines, airplanes, communication towers, and over the past year fall out the sky in flocks.
I love birds, and all animals, but the "fact" (which is merely a statistic) is that 28.5 thousand birds or 0.01% of birds die flying into wind turbines. (Erickson et al., 2005. P 1039)
Get some real "facts" from a properly referenced researcher, then compare it to other researches, and check who funded the research as well before you start to form your opinion.
Jul
22
2011
wind turbines and birds
Ted says:
Stats on bird deaths on your website are underestimated and outdated. USFWD estimated 100,000 to 450,000 last year and the number is growing rapidly. Most projects appear fairly beneign with regard to birds, but some are not. We need to recognize that all locations are not good locations for wind plants and stop treating all projects in the same way. In the wrong place, a wind energy plant can be very hard on birds. The comparison with buildings and cats, is misleading also, as the industry is still relatively new and tiny compared with the other causes of mortality. Another rarely recognized distinction is that poorly located wind plants (in important places for birds), are killing different species then the buildings and cats for example. One particular plant near Kingston is killing large numbers of swallows and raptors for example - not species that turn up on the building or cat list. There is a fundamental planning insue also in that natural coastal areas or ridge tops which may have the highest winds, are also concentration areas for bird migration. Then there are bats. We know very little about populations of migratory species of bats, like Red, Silvery-haired or Hoary, but we know that they are being slaughtered by some wind plants. Wind energy producers would have more supporters if they voluntarily avoided building their plants in important bird areas, or on known migratory corridors, and if they were more serious about mitigating impacts on bats in places where the impacts are high.
Jul
14
2011
wind turbines
Shana says:
It is not just the sound which is a bunch of white noise plus a constant swoosh, thud and the casting of shadows,which makes you dizzy, it is the constant vibration. When you put a bowl of water on a table in a house within the boundaries decided by dingbats, there is a constant vibration. When you live in a rural area, you live there for a reason- peace and quiet! The other aspects of wind turbines are not looking very green except for the big bucks certain parties will receive at the expense of taxpayers:
1. Green jobs?- 2 full-time positions on Wolfe Island to pick up dead bids, bats, etc.
2. A toxic black bubbling lake in China because of mining neodymium needed to create the magnets for the wind turbines in Europe and now North America.
3. Real illnesses associated with the constant noise generated from these Frankenstein industrial monsters being placed too closely to residential areas.
4. Loss of income for tourism, real estate values of homes.
5. Gag orders on local governments, citizens not to speak out.
These are the problems!
Jul
20
2011
opinions set in stone, or maybe in fossils
KMC says:
1. The turbines need to built, installed, maintained, and monitored. I guess you don't think Ontario should follow the path of Germany, the strongest economy in Europe.
2. The neodymium-based magnet is used extensively in the automotive industry with many applications including starter motors, brake systems, seat adjusters and car stereo speakers. Its largest application is in the voice coil motors used in computer disk drives.
I suppose you're advocating we stop using these products as well, which would be using much more of this rare earth mineral.
3. The real health problem is fossil fuel emissions and nuclear contamination. Feel free to take some time looking into Chalk River, let alone the starting point of nuclear energy of uranium mining.
4. Nobody visit Denmark I guess.
5. Seems like a lot of people are getting to talk about it on various levels. A lot of funding for these anti-wind campaigns comes from the fossil fuel companies. I guess they are scared of something, and want you to be too.
There's not much point in trying to convince someone with mind already made up to take time and look for information that doesn't line up with the propaganda they are convinced by already.
Apr
04
2012
KMC, do you actually know
Karen says:
KMC, do you actually know what's going on in Germany right now or are you just mouthing what the government and vested interests tell you. Please go look up the latest analysis based on REAL DATA (you do know what that is do you?) to see the net job loss they've experienced. And businesses are starting to leave because they can no longer remain competitive given the high cost of electricity.
What most of the pro-wind comments illustrate is a complete lack of understanding of a very common law of nature - size matters! And the fact that early wind turbines (they are NOT windmills - they need power to get going) in Europe where nowhere near the size of the ones going up in Ontario AND Europe, with less open space than Canada is now advocating a minimum setback of 2km between a wind turbine and a residence.
It's not that wind energy is necessarily bad, but that bad implementation is very bad. But then most of the people that carry on the strongest with support for th4ese monstrosities live in Toronto or Ottawa and never have to worry about sleepless nights and all the other very real outcomes of sleep deprivation and infra sound (were you aware that sleep deprivation has been used as a form of torture and that infra-sound was researched during WWII as a weapon? Likely not, that would indicate that you really wanted to understand was going on).
And a lot of funding for the pro wind groups is my tax dollars which they get to keep whether they ever produce anything or not and whether they destroy the environment or not. There's been no life cycle analysis done and likely because they would never people to know the truth.
Jul
20
2011
Quit the spin. Wind turbines ARE loud!
Dan Wrightman says:
A wind turbine at the source puts out a sound pressure of approximately 105 decibals on the dba scale. This is the same noise output of a chainsaw or a car alarm. Now imagine living in a quiet country setting surrounded by 80 chainsaws running all night on top of 300 foot towers and than just maybe you can begin to understand why people are upset. 550m is way too close a setback, to human habitation.
Aug
05
2011
Crickets and Cicadas are louder than then the wind turbines
KMC says:
On a trip to building site today at Clear Creek there just happened to be wind turbines!
They are not loud. We stop about 100 meters from one, and later went right underneath one. You people need to get a grip.
Aug
16
2011
Only the facts please
Dan Wrightman says:
Your anecdotal stories don't speak to the facts. Here is a link that shows the sound power curve for a 1.8MW Vesta on page 14. At 8m/s the sound power is 104dba. Since the cutout speed is 25m/s one can assume that the sound output at full power would be much higher.
http://www.vestas.com/Files/Billeder/countrysites/Germany/English_V90-1....
Here is a link to a decibal comparison chart
http://extension.psu.edu/4-h/internal/literacy-curriculum-enhancement-ac...
Aug
27
2011
stop ignore the facts then
KMC says:
In rural environments, where most wind farms are located, the sound profile tends to have much lower levels of background noise, varying from 20-30 decibels. In this situation, in buildings located at the minimum mandated set back distance, most people would be able to hear the wind turbines, but annoyance would be minimal (Rogers, 2006).
http://www.sierraclub.ca/en/climate-change/real-truth-about-wind-energy
Aug
27
2011
The same study found an
KMC says:
The same study found an interesting correlation between those who benefited financially from windmills and reduced perception/annoyance levels even with closer proximity and higher sound levels. It also found that those who did not like windmills to begin with, or who found them to be unattractive were more likely to notice and be annoyed by the sound of the wind turbines (Pedersen, 2008).
These results are not unique. Several studies have similar findings, showing perception and annoyance occurring around the 40dBA threshold, the limit set by the Ontario government. For the studies themselves, and more detailed analysis, please consult the works cited and the accompanying quotes and documents (Pederson, 2010).
Dec
06
2011
Windmills
Pat says:
When you went underneath the windmill did you get a chance to count how many dead or dying birds were laying on the ground. I think you should get a grip on the whole story of what a menace they can be. Solar is far superior, it does not kill.
Apr
04
2012
Was it running? They can be
Karen says:
Was it running? They can be in a 'free wheeling' mode - not operating, and still spin. Wind companies have been known to put them in this mode when giving tours to convince unwary people how quit they are.
Until you have sent a month in one of the houses abandoned by someone, please don't use a few minutes as any comparison with people who live with this 24/7. Your comprehensions of principles of ecology leaves a lot to e desired. Just because a concept is "Green" doesn't mean all means of exploiting it are - consider the Three gorges Dam.
Aug
02
2011
Please complete a story on IWT..it is simply not complete
Ernesr Horvath says:
I too supported Wind as an energy source and still see a possible future in partnership with communities..after feeling the affects personally and talking to other people that have as well...it is not that simple to talk about a speaker in a vehicle.
Look at it as noise that bothers you that is constant..day in day out.
Say a constant playing of a song you simply can't stand...after a few weeks and few months...it takes it's toll mentally and emotionally and makes you a nervous wreck.
The power produced by these machines is very very high voltage. It is common knowledge that living too close to hydro transformers can cause long term health issues...same problem but magnified.
Some of you talk about traffic noise.
These are rural communities. ...the noise you talk about doesn't exsist there...have you folks not gone camping in remote areas where you can even hear a small animal foraging?...sound amplifies and carries.
Sep
01
2011
Just because people in the
Jack Maclean says:
Just because people in the city are inundated with the constant noise doesn't mean people in rural, recreation or tourist areas are interested in the same quality of life. Even in the city, unless you are living next to the freeway, the noise does stop at night. The noise from the Industrial Wind Turbines never quits. If the people in the city (toronto) ae fine the noise, build the wind turbines on top of your sky scrapers and on your waterfront first.
Sep
02
2011
I completely agree that all
KMC says:
I completely agree that all the sky scrappers should have some sort of energy production placed on them. So should all new homes. The type of production needs to be appropriate (wind, solar, biomass) to the location.
I don't think many people here have bothered to really look into the available information, such as the links provided in the original posting by the website owners. Again, there's little to no way to convince a NIMBY to change their minds, but they are laughed at by the community around them that supports these VERY IMPORTANT projects that will help us continue to live here a little bit longer. Maybe we will even get to live here longer than the dinosaurs, but not likely based on the "facts" of our human history.
Nov
11
2011
Wind Turbines
Greg Schmalz says:
On Oct 18/11 Senate hearings were held and the latest data surrounding the health effects of wind turbines was presented to our government.
Knowledge is power. As bodies of knowledge evolve things that once were thought to be safe or acceptable ( smoking, asbestos, drinking and driving ) are now known to be deadly.
The body of knowledge on wind turbine health effects is growing rapidly and regulations need to be updated.
Do your readers a true service and provide them the link to these scientific papers presented to our government and let them judge for themselves.
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