WISCONSIN COUNCIL COMPLETES WIND FARM RULES
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A Wisconsin advisory panel has completed its work on statewide wind farm siting rules.
The Public Service Commission is working to establish uniform siting standards. The Wind Siting Council has been developing recommendations to guide the commission since March.
The council's suggestions include setting turbines back from property lines at 1.1 times the maximum blade height as well as noise and shadow flicker limits.
The council adopted the report on an 11-4 vote. The minority members wrote the recommendations should be stricter to protect health and safety and should include a plan to protect property values.
The PSC plans to complete the rules by the end of August.
NOTE FROM THE BPWI RESEARCH NERD: Though the video and descriptions of living with wind turbine noise and shadow flicker below are from DeKalb, Illinois, they are identical to what Wind Siting Council member Larry Wunsch described to the rest of the council about life with a wind turbine sited 1100 feet from his home.
The majority of the council ignored what Wunsch had to say and have recommended rules which protect wind industry interests over the health, safety and welfare and welfare of Wisconsin residents.
How did they do it? They simply decided that the problems being reported by those whose homes are too close to turbines are not problems.
What's it like to live with turbines too close to your home?
Here are two recent entries from "Our Life with DeKalb Wind Turbines"
Monday, August 9, 2010
The sound continues
Saturday night and Sunday morning and afternoon were terrible for noise. Our property was filled with the chopping noise and low frequency drone. This past week we had some out of town visitors on two separate occasions who specifically came to our home to experience the turbines. They were in disbelief of how close and how noisy the turbines were. The nighttime red flashing lights were shocking to them as well. They were able to drive away. Obviously, we couldn't. Last night and this morning have been light and variable winds, so the turbines were mostly quiet and we enjoyed some relief. Currently the turbines are off.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Sound is bad all day
it's a beautiful day today. 82 degrees, winds SW at 12 mph. we are outside playing and the turbines are producing a lot of noise. it started around 5:30 a.m. and are presently spinning fast and blades are pitched into the wind. on days like today, we feel at a loss. we call the NextEra Resources hotline (which is just an answering service).
we sometimes get a call back, but they don't really do anything. if they could just turn the turbines off, we would have some relief. it's sad that we can't enjoy our property. the turbines today sound like sheet metal that is being shaken. the chopping sound and low drone are something that no one should have to endure and put up with.
we live in the country for peacefulness and that has been taken away from us, and it is affecting our lives. loss of sleep is a reoccurring pattern from the noise the turbines emit. here is a picture from our backyard we took this afternoon.
this is one of the turbines that is around 1400 feet from the foundation of our home. this is just proof that these turbines were poorly [s]ited. they are absolutely too close to our home. some people may say the turbines look nice when visiting them, but living with them is a different story. we are not visiting them. we experience their different sounds everyday and the intense shadow flicker is disturbing. hopefully there will be some justice done in the near future.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Distressing Noise
last night was bad for sound. the turbines created a turbulence-like sound on our property. it's a background noise that is distressing. tonight is 6mph winds and the turbines are lightly spinning. it's a good night. Last night the winds were about the same, but the blades were pitched into the wind and created a chopping/low frequency drone noise. for some reason, the blades aren't pitched into the wind tonight.
SOURCE: KHQA NEWS CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO
ADAMS COUNTY, ILL. -- "I'm against irresponsible wind energy, and that's what this is," says Dave Hulthen.
That is Dave and Stephanie Hulthen from DeKalb County Illinois.
They are in Quincy for a couple of days sharing their thoughts on wind farms.
The Hultens live on a wind farm in DeKalb county, and they don't like it.
There are no wind turbines on their property, so they are not compensated by the wind energy company.
However, they tell KHQA their quality of life has been blown apart since the turbines came online this past December.
This is video of the Hulthen's house. You can see the shadows of the big turbines as they rotate from the wind. They tell me this happens just about every morning during a large part of the year. This is a look from the inside of their home.
"We are exposed to shadow flicker as well. That's where the turbine comes between the sun and our residence. We have a flickering in the morning where it could go for 45 minutes," says Dave Hulthen.
Dave Hulthen says there are two turbines within 1400 feet of his home. There are 13 within a mile. And the problems are more than just shadow flicker.
"It's like a jet plane just sitting on the property. Not flying overhead and leaving, but always sitting out there spinning. It's a hum, hum, hum. a low frequency drum noise," says Stephanie Hulthen.
Take a listen to this video shot around midnight one night.
The Hulthens didn't really know what it would be like to live on a wind farm. They visited one before the one near their house was built. They heard some noises and thought they could live with it. It wasn't until they lived with it 24 hours a day before they realized they didn't like it.
"Now we're affected in one way. In two years, could something else happen. We don't know," says Dave Hulthen.
So the Hulthens are in Adams County to share their concerns with the residents here. They say they have nothing to gain, they were not paid a salary to come here, they just believe people need to do their research first to make sure everyone associated with a wind farm is happy in the end.
The Hulthens do have a daily blog about living on the wind farm.
They say not all days are bad, but a majority of them are.
They also blog about the good days too.
If you'd like to read their blog posts, you can click here.
There is also a question and answer session with the Hulthen Tuesday at the Quincy Senior and Family Resource Center from 1:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon.
The Adams County Board is voting on its newly revised draft ordinance Tueaday night.
You'll remember an original ordinance was past earlier this year.
This new draft addresses some of the concerns of residents and a wind energy company.
KHQA spoke to County Board Chairman Mike McLaughlin, he says this new draft addresses the issue of shadow flicker.
"My board's biggest concern is to take care of the health and safety of the residence of Adams County. We don't want to bring in something that's going to harm anybody. That's obviously not our intent," says McLaughlin.
McLaughlin says Adams County is working with a different company than the one that operates the wind farm in DeKalb County.
He adds there could also be other issues, such as elevation, that affect properties differently.
As far as some benefits to a wind farm in Adams County, it could be a big boost on the economic front.
McLaughlin says a lot of the county's taxing districts, like schools and libraries, would benefit a lot from the development.
In the news:
ANOTHER CHAPTER FROM "WIND DEVELOPERS BEHAVING BADLY", CANADA,
"We will build resources, including capital and marketing materials, to challenge this bylaw and any similar bylaws passed in other municipalities including funds to support any legal challenge as a result of delayed issuance of building permits," [Wind developer] Edey said.
"That is not to be looked at as a threat, because it is not," Edey told council and about a dozen wind energy opponents at the meeting. "We don't believe going to court is a good use of resources, but if that's what it takes to move the project forward, well . . ."
From Wind turbines in the news: 10/10/10 "Gloves off in wind farm showdown"