Photo Credit: Better Plan, Wisconsin

Windmill Flicker

If "flicker" is a new concept to you, watch the short videos below to get the idea.  The closer you are to a windmill that is placed either East, South, or West from your home, the more more often your home will be in the shadow of the spinning turbines, and the more intense that shadow will be.  That results in a sharp difference between sunlight and being in shadow, like living in a strobe light.  These shadows can affect homes up to a half-mile away, but at a distance of only 1000 feet, it is a significant problem that landowners often do not consider until the wind turbine is built, and then it is too late.  There are many videos on the internet posted by people quite unhappy with this disruption of daily life in their home, and it can certainly make a home either impossible or difficult to sell. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbIe0iUtelQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XCA0_W9Qxs&NR=1

Noise & Vibration

The following link is an excellent news story about the effects of noise on former wind power advocates who live a half mile away from three new turbines in Maine.  January 25, 2010

http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/01/25/turbines-turn-into-headache-for-vinalhaven/

Sometimes people who complain about the noise of a wind turbine are accused of being weak or oversensitive or even trying to position themselves for legal settlements.  However, even the wind industry addresses the issue, and often makes the promise that at 1000 feet, the noise will not exceed 45 decibels.  Although though there is video evidence of sound meters that show the decibels at 1000 feet routinely exceeding that noise level, even 45 decibels significantly changes the peaceful quiet many people value in the country into a never-ending background of industrial sounds.  The noise can become more intense during high winds because brakes must be applied; people have described those times like this:  "It is like living inside a washing machine" or "It sounds like a jet that circles but never lands," or "It is a constant whooshing and thumping you can feel in your gut."  "It has been like living to a barking dog that keeps you up at night, except this one has not stopped barking for the one and a half years we've lived next to it, and no one can make it quit barking."

Even though wind industry representatives claim noise is not a significant factor, it has resulted in countless complaints, lawsuits, and even people abandoning their homes as a result of it, across the country and even overseas.  This is particularly likely to be a problem the closer one lives to a wind turbine, and the more of them there are within two miles of that home.  One of the leading complaints is the constant loss of sleep, resulting in numerous health issues. 

As a result of a growing body of information and research, the vast majority of experts are recommending wind turbines not be placed within a half mile (2640 feet), or even greater distances, up to two miles (10,560 feet), from homes or schools or businesses.  The Adams County Wind Ordinance setback is only 1000 feet (or even less for any homeowners who can be convinced to waive the requirement).  This lenient setback requirement assures that at least some people in our county will suffer from the effects of noise and vibration, just as many others have already experienced in other places.  See "Safety and Health" on this website, and the resources below to learn more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeioZrKnnMY

TV Report about a Lawsuit over turbine noise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsCy_MgXrn0

A 137 page scientific research paper about wind farm noise and acoustic vibrations, as well as a review of the current research.  The conclusion is that 2 kilometers (6562 feet) is the minimum safe distance for humans to live from large wind turbines.  The abstract alone is well worth reading.

http://www.windturbinenoisehealthhumanrights.com/wtnhhr_june2007.pdf

Related Issues and Points to Consider

Effects on Crop Dusting

Question:  What is the impact on crop productivity if crop dusters cannot operate in part or all of your fields due to placement of your, or your neighbor's, wind turbines?  This might impact setbacks from neighboring property lines, although it is an issue more for the farm, banking, and insurance industries to be concerned about and not the main point of this website.  However, in case you are interested...

The first link below is an article about the conflict between Illinois wind farms and crop dusting, including quotes by Rick Reed, who owns a cropdusting company in Mattoon, IL.  In the article, the wind farm representative said, "Developers are trying to work with farmers and pilots, making sure they're aware of exactly where the turbines will be, so the pilots can plan how to avoid them."  He added, "If you're going to fly into a field, you're going to need to know, number one, that there's a giant turbine there,"  However, this writer believes most pilots are perceptive enough to notice them on their own.  Here again, the wind developer seems far more optimistic than the pilot that the towers will pose no problem.  The real question is whether they prevent part or all of a particular field from being sprayed, and whether that is o.k. with the farmer.  It might be worth a call to your cropduster before you agree on specific placement of the wind turbines on your property.  Here's the article:

http://www.windaction.org/news/20696

The next link is an informative and helpful letter written by a crop duster explaining that they need a clear radius of one mile in all directions of their target field in order to be able to maneuver the aircraft, and explaining additional reasons why they cannot crop dust in the vicinity of wind turbines (he discusses wind turbine air turbulence, height being higher than their "clear" zone to reset controls, and other factors).

http://betterplan.squarespace.com/reabe-spraying-service-letter/

Additional General Resources:   

This video is a good newscast, giving both sides of the story in Wisconsin, a place that used 1000 foot setbacks, and now many people are upset about it.  To learn from their experience, click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiSpToi982A

This video is about a lawsuit about the noise and vibration of wind turbines.  There are many videos about noise, including some that say that the noise is not a problem.  It apparently depends on factors like wind direction, speed of turbine, sensitivity of the individual person, and location...although it is clear that the closer someone is to a turbine, the more likely they are to experience noise as a significant problem.   Here's the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsCy_MgXrn0

New York's Attorney General created a 8-page "Code of Conduct" mandating that in New York, the process of bringing a wind farm to any county must be an open, ethical, public process.  (We do not have such a policy in Illinois at this time.)  Here are the rules they follow in New York, for your reference: 

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2008/oct/WindCODE%20FINAL.pdf

The following link is to a video of a turbine exploding after the brake failed.  While not common, this and other catastrophic failures such as fire, collapse, or throwing broken pieces of a blade have occurred already, and as equipment ages, may happen more often over time, creating a hazard of falling debris over a 1/4 mile area (far more than 1000 feet).  Catastropic failures like this and "ice throw" below are rare events that have never killed anyone to date.  However, as wind farms multiply, greater setbacks can prevent these kinds of events from harming nearby homes or people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3FZtmlHwcA&NR=1

Below is a link to a video about "ice throw," the phenomenon of ice building up on the blades of a turbine, and then as the ice breaks loose, chunks of it being thrown some distance (some reports have that distance at up to 1500 feet).  In theory, the blades are turned off when ice builds up on them to prevent this; the video shows that is not always the case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nws9odq7S8&NR=1

Other websites of interest:

A Few of the Largest Grassroots or Citizen Action Groups:

http://www.windaction.org/

www.wind-watch.org

www.betterplan.squarespace.com

www.windcows.com 

(Each website is PACKED with articles, personal stories, letters, videos, and scientific studies that all demonstrate the problems and issues with inadequate setbacks.  For example, www.windcows.com documents that the safety instructions in the wind turbine manufacturer's maintenance instructions stresses that maintenance workers should stay more than 1300 feet away from the turbine tower at all times unless absolutely necessary, and never get in the zone that lines up with the rotor blades.  Yet as the winds change directions, homes that are 1000 feet away are not only constantly in the danger zone, but also at times directly in line with the rotor blades.)

See the perspective of the developers who are planning now to build their wind farm in our county:  Global Winds Harvest & Acciona

www.Globalwinds.com

www.acciona-na.com 

Note that on their website, Acciona says they have "embraced a policy of corporate responsibility. This means we hold ourselves accountable for the impact our activities have on our customers..."  Given the issues raised in this website, what specifically will that mean for the people of Adams County? 

Think about the future of Adams County...