Wind turbines are often billed as one of the world’s best solutions to climate change.
And why not?
They are a mature and effective means of generating large amounts of electricity with next to zero carbon emissions. In fact, they are so effective that many more wind farms are planned to be installed over the next 10-30 years.
But the wind energy story is not all rosy. As more wind farms have been installed, there have been an increasing number of complaints from those who live nearby.
Sleeplessness, headaches and high blood pressure are just a few of the symptoms, collectively known as “Wind Turbine Syndrome”, reported by residents who live within a few kilometres of the turbines.
Given the level of financial and political investment in wind energy, “Wind Turbine Syndrome” is a controversial and emotional issue.
It is fiercely denied by wind farm operators and wind energy industry groups. Those who claim their health has been compromised by wind turbines are equally passionate.
Regardless of this intense debate, we know that wind turbines do produce noise and this is limiting our ability to produce green energy. The challenge is to be clever enough to do something about it.
So what causes wind turbine noise?
Most wind turbine noise is generated via aerodynamic means and the dominant form of noise is what is technically known as “airfoil self noise” or the noise created by the rotor blades as they slice through the air.
Most of this type of noise is generated by a quirk of nature that makes the turbulent flow in the region close to the trailing edge (known as the boundary layer) radiate sound much more efficiently, thus making it loud enough to be heard considerable distances from the turbine.
By itself, airfoil noise is “broadband” or contains many frequencies and sounds similar to a hiss. But this type of noise is also very directional, so as the blade rotates, a listener on the ground will hear this hiss-like noise increase and decrease with time.
This is known as blade swish and is one of the reasons why wind turbine noise has been found to be so annoying.
Wind turbines can be made quieter but in order to do so we need to first understand the complicated physics behind the noise.
We need to study turbine aerodynamics and acoustics in more detail so we can create new computer models of wind turbine noise, and how it propagates in the atmosphere.
Such models can then be used to design new quiet wind turbine blades and possibly, whole wind farms.
It will allow engineers and scientists to model the noise created by wind farms and study how they interact, thus providing more detailed planning and operational guidelines than are presently used.
Currently, there are different planning guidelines in each state, with some governments requiring wind farms to be placed more two kilometres away from the nearest human residence.
In many cases, this makes a wind farm economically unviable, due to a lack of electrical transmission infrastructure in remote regions.
If we want to use wind power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we need to understand and control the noise from wind turbines better.
Relying on existing technology appears to be creating expensive health and litigation problems that will only get worse as the number of wind farms increase.
There is an incredible opportunity to invest in research and development in this area now, solve these important problems and create a new industry that provides quiet wind power solutions for the 21st century.
Kay Walker
logged in via Facebook
IMHO the "wind turbine syndrome" is mostly due to people with low thresholds for feelings of sensory intrusion gravitating towards low stimulus environments to live: "a quiet place in the country". I'm sure many are subject to anxiety and depression- jumpiness, poor sleep, the shakes, "missed" heart beats, tense stomach etc in a noisy town or city. These sorts of people fail to habituate to repetitive noise in a quiet environment, so they keep being disturbed by the rhythmic wind turbine sounds…
Read moreChris Griffiths
logged in via Facebook
I think the link outlined in Simon Chapman's Drum piece about the strong correlation between financial gain and suceptibility to "wind turbine syndrome" is highly instructive. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/45730.html
Helen Holm
Ms
Pity the international information about 'wind turbine syndrome' isn't addressed here. Is this article a rehash of a research submission rather than information on the subject matter for an interested audience?
Blair Donaldson
logged in via Facebook
There is no such thing as wind turbine syndrome. There is an invented condition lacking any scientific support that is alleged to exist, a big difference.
Why don't you provide the International information for us here Helen so we can judge the quality of your evidence?
wilma western
logged in via email @bigpond.com
Turbines at the Toora windfarm in South Gippsland are relatively old fashioned and located very close to dwellings. Only one person claimed any health impact ( tinnitus ). There have been no reports of health imp[acts from the Wonthaghgi turbines, also quite close to dwellings. The bald hills windfarm was opposed by landowners who denied climate change science and claimed to be opposed to "industrialisation " of the landscape. On Codrington there were no cliams of health effects until the Waubra campaign got under way. At Ararat the windfarm has great local support ...there seems to be a fairly inexplicable 'clustering' of claims
unless the presence of certain anti-wind campaigners claiming medical expertise is the real explanation.
of health effects at Waubra unless the presence of dedicfated believers in the 'syndrome' is the explanation.Turbine design has improved to reduce the relatively low noise emissions...W@hile tree changers
George Greenwood
Retired
Has any research be done on the health effects of the windmills used to raise artesian water? These are pretty noisy althought much smaller and many of them would have near dwellings to provide water for domestic use.
Jay Kay
logged in via Twitter
Sounds like a case of acute psychosomatic disorder.
Sandi Keane
logged in via email @bigpond.com
I posted this article on Independent Australia last Sunday which goes into a little more detail than the Four Corners program last night "Against the Wind" about the politics of the astroturf organisation, Landscape Guardians, and their devastatingly effective scare campaign to stop windpower replacing coal.
http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/environment/the-ugly-landscape-of-the-guardians/
Here's the ABC story:
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2011/s3274758.htm
Kim Queensland
logged in via Twitter
I think there is something is to be said for the "lived experience" Its easy to sit in a cushy city office and state "There is no impact on residents" This problem is not new. However placing them in low populated country areas (where noise travels for several kilometres), should never have been considered. I also think there are livestock and wildlife considerations. I believe that wind energy is still viable however we need to think outside the square. Perhaps the solution lies in placement at existing noisy areas: i.e. industrial /mining or other energy producing sites.
Blair Donaldson
logged in via Facebook
Sandi, congratulations on your excellent article on Independent Australia.
Wilma neatly sums up the non-effects of the Toora wind farm, it's simply not an issue any more. All the predictions of doom, gloom and ill-health proved to be unfulfilled Guardian propaganda. Visitors still come to the area, tourists still go and visit Wilson Promontory (flood damaged roads permitting), the windfarm is visited every day, no Toora residents are complaining of health effects even though parts of the town are within the 2 km radius of the nearest turbines. Windfarm syndrome is a myth.
Max Rheese
director
Wilma fails to mention the abandoned farm houses bought by the wind industry and then bulldozed. Not acknowledged in the 4 Corners program is the recent senate inquiry recommendations for research into the health impacts of wind farms. This is all that affected rural residents have asked for. Spurious claims that wind farms operate globally without problems in other countries can be debunked by a quick Google search. Any reasonable person could see there is a strong prima facie case for research to settle this issue and the wind industry has welcomed that after the senate report was delivered [although still vigorously fighting calls for more research 48 hours prior to the report].
Regardless of the health issue, numerous studies show that wind energy is unviable and uneconomic anywhere it operates in the world, without subsidy and taxpayer support.
Blair Donaldson
logged in via Facebook
Whining about “spurious claims" is pretty rich coming from you Max.
We all know that it won't matter how many more research efforts clear wind energy as being safe and reliable, you and your climate change denialist cranks will try and find some other excuse to oppose it. It says a lot that you have to hide behind an organisation with a deliberately deceptive name. Tell us why that is Max?
There is plenty of existing evidence that wind farms don't hurt people, namely, the millions of people already living around existing wind farms around the world.
Unfortunately there will be the uninformed and gullible who will believe your lies and the trumped up syndromes so beloved by a certain quack moonlighting as a “medical director.” And let's face it, some people aren't happy unless they are complaining about something.
The only thing that's unpalatable is the fact that you and others with vested interests enjoy going around worrying people unnecessarily.
Sandi Keane
logged in via email @bigpond.com
The fossil fuel industry receives government subsidies of around $13 billion p.a. The wind industry receives a paltry amount by comparison.
In looking at all the angles, never forget the most important advice of all:
FOLLOW THE MONEY!
The fossil fuel lobby are major sponsors of the Institute of Public Affairs. The Australian Environment Foundation is an "astroturf" organisation set up by the IPA. Its phony eco-friendly-sounding name betrays its real purpose: to push the pro-coal, climate…
Read moreMax Rheese
director
No matter how unpalatable to freelance journalists and others who believe unreservedly in wind power that others question the financial and health impacts of wind farms we have an obligation to ensure that we will "do no harm". The Clean Energy Council, the wind industry, Friends of the Earth and the Aust Environment Foundation all support the multiple recommendations from the recent senate inquiry into the impacts of wind farms for medical research to determine if such impacts can be verified.
Denying there are adverse health impacts without any evidence does not progress the issue as the senators acknowledged, nor does it give the wind industry the closure it needs on this issue. Wind industry supporters need to have the strength of their convictions that there are no health impacts and support the need for research.
Mark Groeneveld
logged in via Facebook
You never answered the main question, and really didn't address it at all beyond saying this group believes this and that group believes that.
Mike Barnard
logged in via Facebook
17 major studies world-wide have found that wind turbines don't cause health problems. What they found was that a small subset of people living near wind turbines find the noise they make annoying. A small subset of those people get stressed, and some of those people are losing sleep as a result. They haven't found that there is any reason to think that those people wouldn't be losing sleep over bird cannons, dogs barking, traffic or tractors at dawn instead.
Millions of rural and urban people…
Read moreMike Barnard
logged in via Facebook
Wrong link.
http://www.quora.com/Wind-Power/What-might-cause-people-who-live-near-wind-turbines-to-get-sick/answer/Mike-Barnard
Mike Barnard
logged in via Facebook
Max Rheese is either deeply misinformed or actively promoting disinformation about wind energy. Given that the two organizations he heads received the majority of their funding from the US-based, climate-change-denying ACSC, you can come to your own conclusions. He managed 14 whoppers about wind energy in 17 minutes in a radio 'interview'. Read the entire dissection of his disinformation here: http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/fourteen-wind-energy-myths-debunked-97695
Given that the AEF and the Australian Climate Science Coalition have run $35K in the red while he took $22K from them over the past two years, it's obvious Mr. Rheese doesn't just have a truth deficit.