7/20/10 Writing the Wind Rules: Scenes from the Wisconsin Wind Siting Council Meetings: Is "safety" a relative term? Does size make a difference? How big are the turbines you're referring to? Why are certain council members pushing for a 50dbA noise limit?
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 10:18AM
The BPRC Research Nerd in Doug Zweizig, Jennifer Heinzen, Michael Vickerman, Ryan Schryver, wind farm setbacks, wind ordinance, wind siting council, wind siting guidelines, wind turbine noise, wind turbine shadow flicker, wind wisconsin
 Is safety a relative term when it comes to siting industrial scale wind turbines? WSC 7/15/10

Click on the image below to watch Wisconsin wind siting council members discuss the the relative necessity of a safety setback from large wind turbines. Two council members representing groups that lobby on behalf of wind development believe in this case, safety is a relative term. Because they do not believe safety is an issue when it comes to siting turbines, they suggest the term "courtesy setback" instead of "safety setback"

Wind Lobbyist asked to back up claims about community acceptance- WSC 7/15/10

Click on the image below to watch part of a Wisconsin Wind Siting Council Meeting where Council member and wind lobbyist Michael Vickerman claims that community acceptance of wind projects is higher when there are fewer turbines. Council member and UW Professor Emeritus, Dr. Doug Zweizig asks Vickerman for support for his claims and and in the discussion it is revealed that the turbines in the projects cited by Vickerman are much smaller than the 400 to 500 foot turbines now being proposed. Vickerman then claims the size of the turbines doesn't matter.

Where did 50dbA come from? Wind Siting Council member and wind lobbyist, Micheal Vickerman explains WSC 7/15/10

Where does the wind developers preference for a noise limit of 50dbA come from? A wind lobbyist explains why the type of wind developers interests he represents want the turbine noise limit to be as high as 50daA and what it's based on. The World Health Organization says for restful sleep, 35dbA is the limit for nighttime noise.

WATCH HIGH QUALITY COMPLETE RECORDINGS OF THE WIND SITING COUNCIL MEETINGS AT BY VISITING THE GREAT WISCONSIN EYE

Article originally appeared on Better Plan: The Trouble With Industrial Wind Farms in Wisconsin (http://betterplan.squarespace.com/).
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