Photo by Lynda Barry: Home in a Wind Farm: Butler Ridge Project, Town of Herman, Dodge County, Wisconsin, May 2009

In a story published in the Chicago Reader last week, a lobbyist for the wind industry gave us his take on what's really behind the complaints of those living too close to 400 foot wind turbines.

Although we don't agree with this psychological assessment of families who are having trouble living with the PSC-approved setbacks, we present his statement to give you a glimpse into the soul of a lobbyist for Big Wind.

CLICK HERE to read the full story on line.

“You can’t stop a project in Wisconsin based on the appearance of these turbines,” [Michael Vickerman] says, “so over the past seven years the opposition has refined its arguments and framed them in the realm of protecting public health and safety.Here, as far as I’m concerned, is where they reveal their antiwind bias.

They allege that they can’t sleep, they suffer from nausea—they express their discomfort in the most hysterical terms, and I think they basically work themselves into a very visceral hatred for wind.I don’t even know if they have a philosophical objection to wind. They’re maybe congenitally unhappy people and they needed to project their fears and anxieties and resentments onto something new that comes into the neighborhood and disrupts things.”

-Michael Vickerman, as reported by the Chicago Reader, May 14, 2009

We also present the following story from a family living in a PSC approved wind farm with a wind turbine less than 1300 feet from their door.

They spoke to us on the evening of May 2, 2009, at their home which is located in Dodge County near the Town of Oakfield, Wisconsin.

Ann and Jason Wirtz bought their home on June 1st, 1996. It’s a pretty Wisconsin farmhouse near the Town of Oakfield in Dodge County. It’s the kind of place that had people stopping by to ask if the family would consider selling it.

“They’d just pull into our driveway,” says Ann. “There were people who said if we ever decided to sell it, we should call them.”

Although turn-of-the-century house needed a lot of work when they bought it, they didn’t mind. The Wirtz family planned to stay. Ann and Jason both grew up in the area and wanted to raise their children there.

“ I thought we were going to live here for the rest of our lives.” says Ann, a mother of four. “I thought one of our kids was going to live here after us.”

This was before 86 industrial wind turbines went up around their home as part of the Forward Energy wind project which began operation in March of 2008. The closest turbine is to the Wirtz home is less than 1300 feet from their door.

Wirtz family home, near Town of Byron, Fond Du Lac County, WIsconsin Photo By Gerry Meyer May 2, 2009“Last night it was whining,” said Ann. “It wasn’t just the whoosh whoosh whoosh or the roaring. It was a high pitched whine. And I don’t just hear them, I can feel them.” She describes feeling like a beat in her head. A pulse that matches the turbine’s rhythm.
“Last night was really bad,” she said.

She says she knows which nights are going to be loud by which way the turbine blades are facing, and her family dreads the nights when the wind is out of the west. “That’s when they are the loudest.”

Jason said he found out there was a wind farm planned for his area from a neighbor he ran into at the post office. “He asked me if I knew anything about the turbines coming in. I didn’t.” Jason came home and mentioned it to Ann.

“When I first heard about it I wasn’t that alarmed.” says Ann, “People were saying how bad they could be, but I just didn’t believe them at first.”

She assumed the turbines would be sited much further away from her home, unaware of the controversy over the setbacks approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin which allows turbines to be sited close as 1000 feet to the homes of people like the Wirtzes.

“All those orange flags they put in were way back there. I was thinking it wouldn’t be too bad. And then when that access road started coming in so close I said, ‘what the heck is going on?’

Meanwhile, Jason had been attending town meetings and learning more about the project. The more he learned, the more worried he became. Five months before the turbines went up, the Wirtz family decided to sell their house.

They called people who had let them know they’d be interested in buying it. “When they found out about the turbines,” said Ann, “They weren’t interested anymore.”

Wirtz family prepared the house to put on the market. In November of 2007, the home, sitting on eight acres, was appraised for $320,000. But this once sought-after property could find no buyers. “As soon as people found out about the wind farm coming in,” says Ann. “That was it. And once they started building the roads to the turbines, forget it. They’d ask what that road was for, we’d tell them and we’d never hear from them again.”

After the turbines went up, interested buyers stopped showing up altogether.

“We tried to find another realtor,” said Ann, “They’d ask ‘is it near the wind turbines?’ and when they found out it was, they wouldn’t even bother to come out to the house to look at it. One realtor told me it wasn’t worth her marketing dollars to even list it because if it was in the wind farm she knew she couldn’t sell it. I mean have you ever heard of a real estate agent turning down a chance to sell a house?”

Another realtor said they would have to price it well under $200,000 to get anyone to even look at it. “At that price we were going to be $50,000 worse than when we started, “ said Ann. “And that didn’t include the 12 years of work we put into the place.”

But the Wirtzes were increasingly anxious to get away from the turbines. While Jason, who works nights, wasn’t having much trouble with the turbine noise, it was keeping Ann and her children from sleeping well at night. They were tired all the time. They were also getting frequent headaches.

And there was trouble with their animals as well. The Wirtz family raise alpaca and have a breeding herd. Ann says the alpaca became jumpy the first day the turbines went on line. “Normally they are so calm. But the day the towers started up, they seemed to panic. They were on their back legs right away.”

Ann says the herd had always been docile and healthy, with no breeding problems. Since the wind farm started up, their temperament has changed and none of the females have been able to carry a pregnancy to full term. “ They’re nervous all the time now. And I can’t prove anything but I do know my animals. And I really felt something was wrong. All the years we’ve had them we’ve never had a problem.”

At night the herd shelters in the large metal shed behind the Wirtz home. When the turbines are loud, Ann says the sound echoes inside the shed and the metal vibrates and hums. “The noise in here gets just unbelievable. When the tin starts to vibrate in here, they can’t stand it. I have to find them a better home. This is torture for them.”

The same turbine noise has driven Ann out of her own bedroom “I can’t stand to be in that room anymore. I don’t sleep at all. My sleep has been terrible.” Instead she sleeps on the couch where a fan on their pellet stove helps counter the turbine noise. “My number one complaint is how tired I am all the time,” says Ann, “I never had that before, ever.”

Says Jason, “We don’t have air conditioning, we didn’t want it and we didn’t need it. In the summer we just opened the windows and let cross breezes cool the house. But the first summer with the turbine noise we had to shut the windows and turn on the fan. We couldn’t stand it.”

After one of the children was recently diagnosed with a severe stress-related illness, the Wirtzes decided they’d had enough. They decided the health of their family was more important than keeping their home, and they are abandoning it.

“Now, after all the trouble we’ve had living here” said Ann, “ If a family showed up and wanted to buy the place and they had kids, I don’t think I could sell it to them. Knowing what I know about living here, I just don’t think I could put another family through this.”

They are now looking for a place in a nearby village. “We were born and raised in the country but we’re thinking of moving to Oakfield because they aren’t going to plop a 400 foot turbine in the middle of the village, says Jason. “And I know I’m going to have to drive by this place every day on my way to work. It’s going to make me sick to see it, but I can’t stay here anymore.”

Ann adds, “I say we move near whoever it is that decides on the setbacks because you know they’ll never have a turbine by their place”

Jason and Ann sit at the dining room table and point out the elaborate woodwork they’d stripped and re-finished by hand. Jason holds a picture of the farmhouse from happier days. Earlier that day they’d met with the people at the bank to let them know they were giving up their home.

Jason says, “At least we’re young enough to start over. My mom, she doesn’t have much money and now she has turbines around her house. She said, ‘This house was my retirement,’ Her and my dad put everything into that house. Now I don’t know what she’s going to do.” Jason says, “The quality of life we had here is just gone.”

“I grew up here, and I loved it here,” Says Jason, “But I don’t any more.”

Part of the Wirtz family Alpaca herd. Photo by Gerry Meyer

Note from the BPWI Research Nerd: Though the wind industry continues to deny any negative effects on animals caused by wind turbines, click here to read a BBC report which tells a different story.

[Download a copy of this story by clicking here]

From the East Coast to the West Coast, complaints about wind turbine noise continue to pour in, but is anybody listening?

Windmills in Ore. generating complaints about noise, possible health effects

The Associated Press (SOURCE)

6 April 2009

Wind turbines may supply power without pollution but they are also generating complaints in Eastern Oregon about noise and even possible health effects for people who live near them.

Wind turbines may supply power without pollution but they are also generating complaints about noise and even possible health effects for people who live near them.

Dan Williams says the 240-foot-tall turbines he can see from his hilltop home near Boardman in Eastern Oregon make so much noise they keep him awake at night.

Williams is among neighbors along Highway 74 demanding that Morrow County enforce state noise regulations on the Willow Creek Wind Energy Project or revoke its land-use permit.

The 40-year-old construction contractor told The Oregonian newspaper in Portland that wind-energy companies downplay the noise.

“They said this is going to be about as loud as your refrigerator in your house, which is a crock,” he said.

With Oregon on track to triple its wind-energy production in coming years, concerns are likely to increase.

Oregon wind farms already generate 1,000 megawatts, enough to power as many as 300,000 homes, said Lou Torres, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Energy.

Wind farms to produce an additional 2,000 megawatts are in the works, he said, giving the state a total of about 2,000 turbines, many taller than the Statue of Liberty when blades are pointed up.

“When that (work) is completed in the next couple of years, we will probably be fourth or fifth in the country on wind energy,” Torres told The Oregonian.

Many are planned for Columbia Plateau in Morrow, Sherman, Gilliam, Wasco and Umatilla counties.

The Oregon Facilities Siting Council last July approved a 909-megawatt farm with 305 turbines spread over 32,000 acres in Gilliam and Morrow counties, being developed by Caithness Energy of Chicago.

But the backlash is getting some attention.

In January, a Massachusetts company yanked plans for a wind farm outside The Dalles after opponents complained that it would be too close to homes, ruin spectacular Columbia River Gorge vistas and put wildlife at risk.

Other critics, including some in Oregon, cite work by a New York doctor who coined the term “wind turbine syndrome” to describe effects such as headaches, dizziness and memory loss of living near the machines.

“This thing is not rare,” Dr. Nina Pierpont of Malone, N.Y., said of the syndrome.

Industry representatives dismiss such talk.

Shawna Seldon, spokeswoman for the American Wind Energy Association in Washington, D.C., said her group is unaware of any peer-reviewed research linking wind turbines and negative health effects.

Likewise, Mike Logsdon of Invenergy, the 6-year-old Chicago company that built the Willow Creek farm, also said there is no evidence suggesting the turbines cause health problems.

Still, another resident of the area, Mike Eaton, agrees with Williams and other neighbors who complain about the noise and vibrations from the turbines.

The retired 61-year-old furniture maker said the turbines give him nausea by aggravating inner-ear and balance problems he’s had since a 1966-67 tour in Vietnam subjected him to the constant pounding of an Army 155-mm artillery piece.

“I cannot live where I’m living now with these decibels and vibrations,” he said.

Carla McLane, Morrow County planning director, said health issues never came up during planning for the 72-megawatt Willow Creek project. The county approved the farm in 2005, and turbines began operating this past December.

But Ryan Swinburnson, an attorney for Morrow County, said officials take the complaints seriously.

“The county’s position is if there is a violation, the violating party needs to correct it,” he said.

Wind turbine noise fuels frustration in Oklahoma

By Randy Ellis

The Oklahoman

3 April 2009

Roger Mills County resident Scott Shillingstad said the noises emitted by wind turbines on a neighbor’s property are worse than annoying.

They’re unbearable.

“It sounds like we have an international airport next door to us,” Shillingstad said. “Our health is being threatened. We’re about ready to abandon our property.”

Shillingstad said he lives within 2,000 feet of the nearest turbines, which emit both high- and low-frequency sounds.

“We hear the thumping and swooshing all night long,” he said, adding that some noises sound like the combination of a high-pitched jet engine roar and the rhythmic thumping of a Laundromat.

“It rattles the windows,” said Shillingstad, 56. “My blood pressure has gone through the roof. I’ve been getting headaches, and I’ve never had headaches all my life.”

Shillingstad said he has called every state agency he can think of seeking help and now is communicating with the Environmental Protection Agency.

“All I’m trying to do is bring a little attention to our plight,” he said. “This phenomenon is going to be happening all over the state of Oklahoma. Right now, there are no state or federal regulations. They don’t take into consideration anybody’s right to privacy or right to peace.”

Cohocton not dealing with leaseholder noise complaints

The Evening Tribune

The Town of Cohocton announced Monday it will no longer be dealing with any noise complaints generated by residents who lease property with wind energy developer First Wind.

The town board sent an open letter to the media Monday afternoon outlining its intentions on monitoring noise generated by the 50 wind turbines erected in the town in 2008 following complaints by residents and leaseholders involved with the project.

“Over the past few weeks, a resident of the Town of Cohocton, Hal Graham, has been lodging complaints with First Wind, the owner of the Town of Cohocton’s two wind farms, members of the Town Board, other State and local elected officials, and the Town’s Code Enforcement Officer concerning noise levels at his home,” the letter states.

Under the town’s wind law, the letter states, there is a distinction between participating landowners — like Graham, who has several turbines on his property — and non-participating landowners.

“The town wanted to allow those persons in the town signing leases or setback waivers to make their own decisions about the use of their land, without constraining any particular landowners’ ability to negotiate with First Wind,” the letter states. “Participating landowners are viewed under the Town’s local laws as, in essence, First Wind’s co-applicants.”

The board heard complaints on noise generated from the 50 turbines on top of Pine, Lent, Dutch and Brown hills around Cohocton at its Feb. 23 meeting. At the meeting, Graham — a Lent Hill resident — addressed the board and asked if there was anything the town could do about the turbines on his property.

“They (First Wind) told us we wouldn’t hear anything at 900 feet,” he said at the meeting. “The noise is so great that my windows are vibrating.”

The letter Monday said it will not be dealing with Graham’s problems.

“While we are hopeful that First Wind will be responsive to Hal’s concerns and the concerns of any other ‘participating’ landowners, the Town will not compromise its ability to address legitimate complaints received from the owners of ‘non-participating’ parcels by taking on a ‘participating’ parcel owner’s problems,” the letter states, continuing to explain that the town’s laws on wind noise do not apply to participating landowners and they must file their complaints with First Wind.

Non-participating residents’ complaints will receive the town’s attention, though.

The current procedure for complaints is to call a toll-free number belonging to First Wind, which rings into the office located on Main Street in Cohocton. From there, First Wind officials will schedule a time for the town’s and the company’s wind turbine noise consultants to test the property and determine if there are violations of the wind law.

“If First Wind does not adequately respond to your complaint, then follow up with the Town’s Code Enforcement Officer,” the letter states.

Calls to Cohocton town Supervisor Jack Zigenfus, who sent the letter to The Evening Tribune, and Graham were not immediately returned.

By Bob Clark

The Evening Tribune

Windmills a sound investment?

April 6, 2009 by Mary Perham in Corning Leader

(SOURCE)

Editor's note | This is the first part of a two-part look at developing concerns over wind farms in parts of Steuben County.

Bath, N.Y. - In early January, the blades in the 53-turbine First Wind project in the town of Cohocton began to spin. It was the first project in Steuben County to generate renewable energy and one of five under consideration in the county.

Within weeks, dozens of Cohocton residents went to the town board in neighboring Prattsburgh to warn that the machines were proving to be noisy and harmful.

"Don't let (the developers) buffalo you," Cohocton resident Hal Graham told the Prattsburgh Town Board in late February. "You know, I wanted to do something for the environment. And now I can't sleep at night."

Graham initially supported wind farm development.

Prattsburgh is the site of two wind farms planned by developers First Wind and EcoGen. Other projects have been proposed in the towns of Hartsville and Howard.

Since wind farms in Steuben County were first proposed in 2002, developers have admitted it's hard to miss seeing the 400-foot-high turbines, but insisted they sound no louder than a refrigerator's hum.

The projects have been promoted throughout the largely rural county as a quiet, inexpensive and environmentally-friendly way to provide renewable energy.

Environmental studies for Cohocton and Steuben County led to restrictions of the turbines' sound to a maximum comfort level of 50 decibels. Setbacks were established to assure both noise and other potential dangers such as shadow flicker and flying debris were lessened.

Yet the promised "refrigerator hum" of the turbines was a falsity as residents began to compare the sound to the roar of a jet engine, according to Graham.

The Cohocton residents are among a growing number of people across the nation complaining the noise made by wind turbines is intrusive and disturbing. Medical professionals have compiled studies showing the noise can pose health hazards.

And the wind industry is beginning to take notice.

In Maine, where the state welcomed renewable energy, the Mars Hill project has been widely criticized for being noisy.

According to a March 26, 2008 report by the Daily News in Bangor, Maine, UPC Wind president and CEO Paul Gaynor said the company would do a better job in the future about letting local residents know what to expect from wind farms.

"I know there was an expectation (in Mars Hill) about what these were going to sound like," Gaynor told the Daily News. "These are big structures and they do make sound."

Shortly after Gaynor spoke to the Maine newspaper, the firm changed its name to First Wind. It was formerly known as Global Winds Harvest/UPC.

Local officials said they have relied on the best information available and worked to ensure the safety of residents.

Steuben County Industrial Development Agency Executive Director James Sherron said the agency has regulatory standards based on data from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and state Energy Research Development Agency.

The Steuben County IDA has established minimum distances that wind turbines can be to a residence, called a setback. There are also limits on decibel levels.

But Sherron said he has heard reports of 110 decibels in Cohocton -- twice the accepted limit - and added any violations would go through a process of sound studies to decide the best way to solve the issue.

"We have a responsibility with the developers, they have to meet the criteria," Sherron said. "They could be asked to slow down the turbines, find alternatives. It could mean the unit would be removed."

Sherron said another factor in the noise may be the model of machine used in Cohocton.

While SCIDA initially reviewed 1.5 megawatt turbines, the five wind farm developers looking to do business in the county indicated they would be installing 2.3 megawatt turbines. The larger turbines were approved because SCIDA's consultants said there was no significant difference in their impact, Sherron said.

But all models under consideration are capable of exceeding 100 decibels at a maximum speed of 30 feet per second, according to a report to SCIDA by developer EverPower.

Typically, the blade rotation is reduced to lower speeds.

Yet some sound experts charge the current "acceptable" range of 45-50 decibels is excessive, and twice as loud as some background rural noise recorded at 20-25 decibels.

Acoustical engineer Richard James warned the noise is not only nerve-wracking, but poses health risks now being studied in the U.S. and in Europe, where wind farms have operated for nearly 20 years.

James likened the potential long-term effect of wind farms to the now-notorious region near Buffalo, where officials paved over the toxic waste which later poisoned residents.

"This is like Love Canal," he said.

Let's start with this:

How far should a 400 foot tall industrial wind turbine be built from your home?

• Manufacturer’s Recommendation: 1,300 feet
• Protection from ice and blade throw: 1750 feet
• U.S. National Research Council: 2,500 feet
• Flicker: 3,300-5,000 feet
• Germany: 1 mile
• France: 1 mile
• Nina Pierpont Study: 1.25 miles
• Kamperman and James Study: 1.2 miles
• Rural Manitoba, Canada: 6,500 feet
• California: 2 miles
• Michigan Requirement: 1,000 feet
• WISCONSIN: 1000 feet

Looking into the 'noise' about wind turbines

(Click here to read this story at its source)

When the state of Michigan commissioned recommendations to help formulate wind energy policies, acoustic expert Rick James saw two problems with the commission. The commission lacked both the expertise of an acoustic engineer and a medical doctor.

Without these two perspectives, a major concern of wind turbines — their potential physical side effects due to the sounds they emitted — were overlooked.

To counter this oversight, James has been working since 2006, consulting and sharing current research results that shed more light on this issue.

Thursday, James travelled to northern Michigan, meeting with Sherman Township residents at the behest of the local Save Our Sherman group.

“The state set the setback at 1,000 feet, looking at it from an economic perspective,” James said. “If they looked at it from a public health perspective, the setbacks would be at least a mile.”

James highlighted two primary concerns with the health effects of wind turbines. The first is the simple audible annoyance that he cited as causing sleep disturbance, among other conditions.

While wind turbines produce a relatively quiet sound when compared to other common noises such as cars, airports, or railroads, a study in Sweden showed that people find the sound more annoying.

“It causes the problem with sleep disturbance not because it’s overly loud, but because it can be equated to Chinese water torture. It’s the constant, drop, drop, drop.”

“One factor we didn’t understand is that people choose to live in rural communities to get away from the noise,” James explained. “What they are looking for is something only rural America can offer — peace and quiet.”

The second health concern related to wind turbines is connected to the inaudible, low-frequency sound produced. While this concern has been rejected by wind companies, James himself has done research that proves that windmills produce a constant low-frequency sound.

“I found it dominant, omnipresent. Unlike the audible whooshing, which is there only part of the time when the wind is just right, the low frequency is there all of the time,” James said.

Low-frequency sounds, which are created by large and stable sound waves, are known to travel for great distances and penetrate nearly every substance.

However, the medical dangers of the low-frequency sound waves are still highly debated and not yet conclusive.

One study that James cites comes from New York. After encountering several patients living near wind farms who complained of symptoms ranging from migraines and dizziness to uneasiness, Dr. Nina Pierpont began one of the first peer-reviewed comprehensive medical studies of the effects of low-frequency sound emitted by wind ¨ turbines.

According to James, the study asked patients with symptoms to physically move away from the wind turbine area — and the symptoms disappeared. She then had them move back, and the symptoms returned. The process was repeated, and she collected the data. The results of her study may be viewed for free at www.windturbinesyndrome.com. Pierpont attributes this to the low-frequency sound, what she refers to as Wind Turbine Syndrome.

James argues that while the medical effects of windmills hasn’t yet been fully studied, communities should proceed with caution.

Like smoking and fast food, “Do we really want to wait 30 years to determine if there are health risks?” he asked.

James recommends extending the minimum setbacks from residences to windmills to at least one mile. He explained that wind farms in the western part of the United States have not seen nearly the number of complaints as the eastern half — because the turbines are located much further from people’s homes.

“I’m not against wind energy,” James assured. “The message is that we have rushed into this too fast.”

James did not speculate on whether Sherman Township should proceeded with wind development but urged township “to make some good rules” to prevent potential concerns to public health.

Differing recommendations

Setback recommendation from wind turbines to residences

• Manufacturer’s Recommendation: 1,300 feet
• Ice and blade throw: 1750 feet
• U.S. National Research Council: 2,500 feet
• Flicker: 3,300-5,000 feet
• Germany: 1 mile
• France: 1 mile
• Nina Pierpont Study: 1.25 miles
• Kamperman and James Study: 1.2 miles
• Rural Manitoba, Canada: 6,500 feet
• California: 2 miles
• Michigan Requirement: 1,000 feet
• WISCONSIN: 1000 feet

In response to a questionnaire submitted by Union Township to wind developers regarding the noise made by wind turbines the developers defended their noise specifications with statements that indicated they may have opened "some medical books" to get an answer. Those who are currently unable to sleep because of turbine noise in Fond du Lac county might take issue with this armchair diagnosis provided by a wind farm salesman. Our Grade For His Response?

A big, red F.

Here is the response: "Turbines are sited to have maximum sound level of 45dBA, well below levels causing physical harm. Medical books on sound indicate sound levels above 80-90dBA cause physical (health) effects. The possible effects to a person's health due to "annoyance" are impossible to study in a scientific way, as these are often mostly psychosomatic, and are not caused by wind turbines as much as the individuals' obsession with a new item in their environment."

Community noise experts Kamperman and James took issue with this and published a formal response to the questionnaire, highlighting major deficiencies in the wind developers' statements, including:

* The tone and context of the statement implies that 45 dBA is fully compatible with the quiet rural community setting.

* No acknowledgement is made of the dramatic change this will be for the noise environment of nearby families.

* No mention is made of how the wind facility, once in operation, will raise evening and nighttime background sound levels from the existing background levels of 20 to 30 dBA to 45 dBA.

* There is no disclosure of the considerable low frequency content of the wind turbine sound; in fact, there are often claims to the contrary.

* They fail to warn that the home construction techniques used for modern wood frame homes result in walls and roofs that cannot block out a wind turbine's low frequencies.

* They do not disclose that the International Standards Organization (ISO) in ISO 1996-1971 recommends 25 dBA as the maximum night-time limit for rural communities. Sound levels of 40
dBA and above are only appropriate in suburban communities during the day and urban communities during day and night. There are no communities where 45 dBA is considered acceptable at night.

* Making statements outside their area of competence, wind industry advocates, without medical qualifications, label complaints of health effects as "psychosomatic" in a pejorative manner that implies the complaints can be discounted because they are not "really medical" conditions. Such a response cannot be considered to be based in fact.

TO READ MORE ABOUT NOISE AND SITING OF WIND TURBINES, DOWNLOAD THE FULL KAMPERMAN AND JAMES "HOW-TO" GUIDE BY CLICKING HERE

NOTE FROM THE BPWI RESEARCH NERD: Developers and Wind Lobbyists alike compare the sound of industrial wind turbines to that of a refrigerator. The source of this statement seems to come from Tom Gray, a lobbyist for the American Wind Energy Association, and he can't seem to decide how far from the refrigerator you need to be in order to make the comparison, as illustrated by the video below.

UPDATE ON THE ICE THROW FROM AN INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINE

(Click here to read it at its source)

Residents complained when the 260ft wind generator began hurling shards of ice, some measuring two feet long, after the cold snap over the weekend.

Operators Cornwall Light and Power turned off the machine in Kings Dyke, Whittlesey, Cambs, which is situated next to several homes and an industrial estate.

The energy company has also opened an investigation amid fears that the ice could have caused serious injury to people living and working near the turbine.

Tyson Clark, who owns a carpet showroom next to the generator, said he called Cornwall Light and Power demanding that it be turned off when lumps of ice started falling on his premises.

He told his local newspaper, the Wisbech Standard: "We have been told the turbine will stay off until the company has some satisfactory answers to why it happened."

The turbine was restarted a day later but had to be switched off again after more people complained.

Peter Randall, who runs a nearby welding company, said: "We were assured that ice could only cause a problem in severe weather conditions like those in Scotland, and two days later we got javelins thrown at us.

"I am worried about the safety of my family and everyone in the area, we should not have to put up with this."

The £2million turbine was criticised by many local residents when it was erected.

Whittlesey county councillor Ronald Speechley said: "It's worrying. Ice froze on the blades and, when it started moving, it started throwing it all over.

"It could be very dangerous."

A spokesman for Cornwall Light and Power said: "Following reports of ice shedding on Saturday, we shut down our wind turbine at Whittlesey.

"Our people have visited the site and nearby residents, and we have agreed that the turbine will not generate until we are fully satisfied that there is no risk of ice shedding."

While wind developers continue to downplay the trouble with noise from industrial scale wind turbines, the truth keeps making its way to the public. Watch ABC's Charles Gibson with microphone recording the noise from a wind turbine by clicking here (Warning! There may be an ad you have to suffer through to watch this.)

We believe this is one of the first times the actual sound of an industrial-scale wind turbine has been presented to the public. Mr. Gibson calls it "the sound of the future" -- but for people who are living 1100 feet  (350 steps) from wind turbines of this size in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties here in Wisconsin, it's not the sound of the future. It's the sound of sleepless nights, headaches, and miserable days, right now. Today. Tonight.

And click here to watch a CNBC news segment on people who had to move out of their homes because of turbine noise and other unexpected health-effects of living too close to such immense industrial machines.

Below is what September sounded like to a Fond du Lac family living inside of an 86 turbine wind farm which went on line in March of 2008.

(You can download the entire diary by clicking here)

September 1

-  5:15 AM Wind S calm, 18.6 rpms, dba 44.4, dbc 59.3. Loud jet sound from turbines 4 and 73.
-8:45 AM Wind S 7 knots, 16 rpms. Loud jet sound from turbines 4 and 73. To equalize the sound I walked north to 1360’ from turbine 4 and 2680’ from turbine 73. Very annoying. Oh, this is more than ½ a mile from turbine 73.
-1:55 PM Wind S, 5 knots gusts to 14 knots, 13.3 rpms. All day there has been a loud jet sound like there is fighting between turbine 4 and 73 as to who can be the loudest. My stomach feels full and nauseated, tired of being out  listening all day. I have lived here 37 years and never imagined we would he to live with these health and welfare effects.
-9:25 PM Wind SE, 18.3 rpms. Turbine 4 dba 49.1, dbc 64.3, turbine 73 dba 47.9 dbc 64.9. This whole day has been loud mostly between turbines 73 and 4. At this  time also 74a and others to the south are loud. I have been sick to my stomach feeling most of the day. I was just in the bathroom and I can hear turbines from there. Our bathroom has no outside wall. As I write this in the computer room I hear turbine sounds, but am not sure if from the north (4) or south (73,74a + others). It has been a very bad day.
-10:55 PM Wind SE 4  knots dba 51.6, dbc 69.5 from the sidewalk 20’ from our house or 1585’ from turbine 4.

September 2 –

-6:15 AM Wind calm 18.3 rpms. Almost as loud as last night. I can hear turbines 4 and 73 and 6. It looks like another bad day in store.
-11:45 PM Wind NW, 5 knots, dba 51.1, dbc 60.6. We just got home from the Idols concert in Green Bay with my wife’s sister. She had not heard the turbines before. She said, “My goodness. It sounds like a jet taking off”. Turbines 4 and 6 are very loud and ripping the sky apart. Terribly loud jet sound. I can hear turbines in the house. 

September 3 –

-5:15 AM Wind NW 18.6 rpms.  Jet sound from turbines 73 and 4.
-12:35 PM Wind N,  11 rpms, 8 knots. Humming and whooshing sound #4.
-8:10 PM Wind NE 13.3 rpms. Low jet flying over sound.
-12:20 AM Wind NE. Louder sound than before.

September 4

– 6:40 AM Rain, Wind NE 15 rpms. Turbine 73 is louder than turbine 4. Turbine 73 is 2480’ away from the house.
-  9:25 PM Wind N, light rain, strong wind. Outside I can hear the jet sound over the wind. Inside in the computer room I can hear turbines.
---10:55 PM Wind N, 11 Knots. I hear turbines inside the house☹
   -12:10 AM Wind N, dba 51.2, dbc 73.4. There is a  Jet sound. I can hear turbine 4 in the house with the door closed.

September 5

– 7:35 AM Wind NW calm, low clouds 400’, 13.6 rpms. I can hear jet sound from turbine 4.
---1:10 PM Wind NW, 11.3 rpms. Sound not too bad.
  --4:25 PM Wind NW, 11 rpms, dba 43, Dbc 54.3. Humming and whooshing sound. This afternoon many of the turbines were not turning.
---11:25 PM Wind W, 11.3 rpms, humming and whooshing sound. 

September 6

– 7:10 AM Wind W, 4 knots, 11 rpms. Humming sound.
--2:00 PM Wind W, 16.6 rpms.Turbine loud humming and whooshing. Turbine 6 loud jet sound. 5:20 PM Wind W, calm, 11
    rpms. Humming and grinding sound.
--7:40 PM Wind SW, calm, 11 rpms. Humming sound.
    10:05 PM Wind W, calm, 11 rpms. Turbine 4 humming and can hear turbine 6 as well.

September 7

--6:15 AM Wind W, 11 rpms. Whoosh, whoosh sound.
----5:25 PM Wind SW 9 knots, 18 rpms, turbine 4-50.4 dba, 68.7 dbc. All day or from noon turbine 4 was loud jet flying over sound during our family reunion picnic outdoors. Many commented about the loud sound.
----8:00 PM Wind NW calm, light rain, 13.6 rpms. Jet sound and whoosh sound from turbine 4. Jet sound from turbine 75a, ¾ mile away☹
    -11:45 PM I hear the humming of #4 while in the  dining room and from my computer I hear turbine 73. The day has been bad and it just continues on even with the wind calm.

September 8

– 5:15 AM Wind NW, slow. Humming sound. 9:55 AM Wind NW 3 knots, 7.3 rpms.  Pretty slow. Looks like an attempt to show they are working. Wind W. All turbines are shutting down.
    --11:30 PM Wind W, calm, dba 42.7, dbc 60.3. Turbine 6 is louder than turbine 4 jet  sound. Turbine 6 is ¾ mile away.

September 9

– Wind calm, 0 rpms. All 86 turbines are still. What wonderful peace!
    3:45 PM Wind SW 5 knots variable. No turbines turning, but our ice cream is OK. The gas, nuclear and coal
    Generators must be working.
    9:50 PM Wind SE, 3 knots, dba 45.3, dbc 60.3. Low jet sound.

September 10

– 5:15 AM Wind S, calm, 11 rpms. Humming sound.
    7:20 AM Wind S, 3 knots, 11 rpms. Humming sound.
    8:25 AM Wind SW, calm, 11 rpms. Only 25% of the industrial, noisy turbines are turning.
    5:35 PM Wind SE, 8 knots, 15 rpms. Fairly loud whoosh and hum sound
    for a SE wind.
    9:30 PM Wind SW, 5 knots, 18 rpms, sound at house dba 49.4, dbc 61.3, sound at back of property dba 45.3, dbc 64.2, front of house dba 44.5, dbc 60.9. Our son has been down from his room twice complaining of the turbine sound from his room. The sound is close to the Chinook [helicopter] sound between turbines 4 and 73. I have had a crackling sound in my left ear for about 10 days.
    11:10 PM Wind SE, dba 48.2, dbc 71.3. Loud jet sound from turbines 4 & 6.

September 11

– 6:25 AM Wind SE. 3 knots, 18.3 rpms. Very loud jet flying over sound filling the air  rom the South, West and North. Yesterday I had slight headache most of the day. I was  working outside most of the day. I rarely get headaches. This morning when I woke up I thought about the buzzing or crackling in my ear for the past week. Is it from the constant turbine noise? I also am concerned about being tired most of the time and not having much ambition. I could take a nap at any time and often do. I see customers that were on my mail route just 6 weeks ago and can not remember their names. This is not just occasionally, but everyday and with people I know. I wonder if I am getting Alzheimer’s disease early or is it turbine sound related? I am 59.
    3:15 PM. Wind SE. I just got home from Madison. Turbine 4& 6 and 73 are giving off loud, ripping the sky apart [noise] even over the rain. About 14 of the turbines  on the West edge of the project are not turning.
    9:50 PM Wind SSW, 9 knots, cloudy, humid. Turbines 4, 73 and 6 are filling the air with ripping, loud jet sound. I can hear turbines at my Computer which is in my house 1560’ – 2480’ from the large industrial wind turbines. At house dba 50.2, dbc 65.8, back dba 52.3, dbc 62.3, front dba 47.1, dbc 65.5.

September 12 –

--6:55 AM Wind SW calm, 11 rpms. Low humming sound.
    7:00 PM Wind calm, no Turning.
    11:40 PM Low hum

September 13 –

   --7:10 AM Wind E, foggy and drizzling, 14.6 rpms. Sound is covered by the rain and
    wind.  
    --8:30 PM We just got home from a day trip to our cabin and as soon as I got out of the
    truck I can hear turbines 4 and 73 ripping the sky apart as loud as a Chinook helicopter.
    11:30 PM Wind W. Only hear the jet sound from turbine 4

September 14 –

    Wind N, 8 knots, 11 rpms. I can hear the sound over light rain. I noticed a crackling
    in my left ear last night and this morning.
    8:25 AM Wind NNW, dba 49.3, dbc 63.8 with a loud jet sound. I can hear turbine 4 at my computer. 12:20 PM 14 rpms. Loud jet sound.
    7:15 PM Wind NW 5 knots, 14 rpms, dba 44.0, dbc 61.3. Loud jet sound, but not as loud as all  afternoon up until 30 minutes ago. It was a tense day working in the barn shop and picking berries and apples with the obnoxious sound…sickening sound.
    10:35 PM Wind NW, light rain, 9 knots. Very loud jet sound ripping through the sky. 10:10 PM Wind NW. I can hear turbines
    4 and 6 loud jet sound. I can hear turbine 4 in the house. I have a crackling in my left ear.

September 15

    5:15 AM Wind NW, 10 knots, 14.3 rpms, dba 45.7, dbc 63.5 Fairly loud jet sound from
    turbine 4.. and I can also hear turbine 6.
    1:20 PM. Wind NW, 6 knots, cloudy, 11 rpms. Low  hum.
    4:00 PM Most turbines are not turning. It is so peaceful picking the raspberries and being able to hear the bees buzzing with out the sounds of the industrial wind turbines.

    September 16 –

    6:20 AM Wind SW, 4 knots, feels calm, 14.6 rpms, dba 44.6, dbc 61.4. Loud motor running or humming sound. I’m hearing turbine 4 in the barn shop and at the computer at 7:05
    11:15 AM Wind SW loud, dba 47.1, dbc 64.7.
    4:15 PM Wind SW, 11 knots, dba 47.3, dbc 67.2, 18 rpms. Turbine 4 and 6 are making loud jet flying over sounds, ripping the sky apart. It has been loud all day.
    9:40 PM Wind SW 11 knots, house dba 50.1, dbc 65.6, back dba 51,  dbc 66.5, front dba 50.7, dbc 66.5, 18 rpms.This is the loudest night in a long time. I hear #4, 6, 73, 74a, 3a and and possibly more. I can hear them at the computer in the front of the house  and in the family room in the back of the house with the TV on. Keep in mind turbine 6 is ¾
    mile, # 73 is 2480’ and 74a 5/8 mile away. It is very sad our town officials and PSC have allowed this turbine project to affect the health of residents in this area and it will continue in other areas.
    11:40 PM I hear turbine jet flying over sound while watching TV in our family room☹

September 17 –

    4:30 AM Wind SW, 5 knots, dba 47.4, dbc 62.3. Jet sound from turbine 4 and 6. Last  night I slept very little due to the constant sound in the house. This is the worst since they began turning on March 3, 2008. I could hear a low like whoosh sound or at times the house seemed to be vibrating. I am getting more angry at elected officials for allowing this to happen
 and that something (turbines) that are 28-30% efficient are even promoted. This is an unjust  use of our tax dollars. I hear turbine sounds as I write this at the computer.
    5:05 PM Wind N, 1 rpms. Fairly calm. Not much noise compared to yesterday.
    10:30 PM Wind N. Noise Is Covered by sweet corn harvesting machinery at the neighbors.

September 18 –

    6:35 AM Wind E, 11.3 rpms. Low hum sound.
    10:35 PM Wind SE, dba 46.0 dbc  66.9. Jet sound. Louder than during the day

September 19 –

    6:45 AM Wind S, 5 knots, 18 rpms, house dba 51.3, dbc 69.9, front dba 49.9, dbc 65.4. The sound outside is loud. The environmental impact statement for this project and Invenergy company officials say with the new technology you only hear the sound from oneside of the turbine. This is not true. I hear turbine 4, 1560’ to the north and turbine 73, 2480’ to
the south both ripping the sky apart this morning. I hear turbine noise as I write this at the computer. Yes, in the house, Very irritating.
    7:50 PM Wind SW, 18 rpms, dba 49.0, dbc 62.1.It has been loud all day. I’m sure there will be sleep problems tonight.            11:45 PM Wind SW, 9 knots. I can hear turbines 4 and 73 loudest and 74a and 6. I was watching TV and when there
    was no talking I could hear the whoosh, whoosh of the turbines☹ Our son was down complaining and with a recording he had made of the sounds of the turbines he can hear from his room.
It is 11:55 PM and I can still hear him awake. I can hear the turbines at the computer.

September 20 –

    7:20 AM Wind SW, 8 knots, but seems calm, 15 rpms, dba 44.1, dbc 60.6, clear sky.The sound is fairly quiet other than whooshing and humming of the turbines (this is not the pleasant sound like someone humming to music).
    7;35 PM Wind SW, 9 knots, seems calm, 11.6 rpms. I can hear the sound of turbine 4 but no sound reading as the farmer 300 yards down the hill began corn chopping and silo filling so sound reading. It would not be fair to take a sound reading with tractors and choppers running so close by.
    8:20 PM Wind SW, calm, 11 rpms, low hum.

September 21 –

Wind NE, 4 knots, 11 rpms. Little sound today. The last 2 days I have had a lot of  crackling in my left ear. This morning I woke with the sound. It is like taking wax paper and crunching it next to the ear, but this is inside the ear.
    7:10 PM Wind E, 11 knots, 14.3 rpms, cloudy. Not too much noise due to wind in the trees. 11:10 PM Wind SE, 3 knots, cloudy, mist. dba 45.5, dbc 67.3. Jet sound. Much of today most turbines were not turning. Now the loud sound has returned.

September 22

– 5:15 AM Cloudy, foggy. Low hum. Afternoon-Working on the new porch was a tense afternoon. I could hear turbine 4 over the sound of a 4 row self propelled corn chopper and accompanying equipment. The chopper was between our house and the turbine.
   -7:30 PM Wind SE, 16.6 rpms. I can hear the turbines over the wind. There has been more sound the last few days or week and that has brought on more crackling in my left ear. While working on the porch 5  minutes after turbine 73 got louder my wife had a headache. 

September 23

– 6:45 AM Wind SE, light, 16.6 rpms. 8:10 AM My wife was trying to read at the dining room table and thought she heard a train, but it was the turbine sound instead. I woke up with the crackling in my ear. It has been pretty much constant the last 3 days. My wife also told me about a quivering she has in her chest, especially at night in bed. She had thought it  had something to do with her heitial hernia, but after reading some of Nina Pierponts writing I realized it is probably from the constant turbine sounds.
2:00 PM Wind S, 14 rpms. Turbine 4 has been shut down today. Maintenance trucks are at the base. Today I can hear turbine 3a because turbine 4 is not over powering it. I also hear turbines 73 and 74a.
10:55 PM Wind SSE 8 knots, 18 rpms, dba 48.0, dbc 61.4. Jet sound heard from turbines 4 and 73. Quite loud with
turbine 6 not quite as loud

September 24

– 5:15 AM Wind SW, 3 knots, 15 rpms, partly cloudy, dba 46.6, dbc 61.4. The sound is that of a jet flying over. 9:30 AM Wind SW, 3 knots, 11.6 rpms. There is the humming sound.
    10:25 PM Wind N, calm, 11 rpms with humming sound. I had crackling in my left ear much of  the day.

September 25 –

    5:20 AM Wind NE, calm, 11 rpms. Low Hum. 3:35 PM Calm. No turbines turning.
    1:20 AM Wind E calm, dba 45.3, dbc 60.3. Loud whoosh from turbine 4 & loud sound from 73.

September 26 – 7:05 AM Wind S, Calm, 14.3 rpms, dba 43.2, dbc 59.6. Humming sound. 1:50 PM Wind S, calm,  18 rpms, dba 46.2, dbc 59.1. Low jet flying over sound. I can hear turbines 4  and 6. Left ear crackle.

September 27

– Wind SW, calm, 11 rpms. Low hum. I woke up with left ear crackling.
8:55 AM Wind SW, light, turbine 4 14 rpms, turbine 3a 11 rpms. Turbine 4 is getting loud.
8:55 PM Wiind N 8 knots, 14 rpms. Turbine 4 and 6 are quite loud with #6 louder tonight. Turbine 6 is ¾ mi away

September 28

    S– 7:10 AM Wind NE, light breeze. Difference between dba and dbc is 20. That may Explain why my wife was awake for 2 hours over night.
    5:30 PM. 12.3 rpms. The turbines were off for a while. Ten rpms for a while. I was to our cabin today. It was so nice and peaceful☺ No annoying turbine sounds to pollute the air. I could hear birds and the rustling of the leaves. It
    was very peaceful and relaxing.

September 29

– 5:15 AM Wind calm. Turbines not turning. 9:00 PM Wind NW, 4 knots. Turbines not turning. Coudy.
    6:30 PM wind NW, calm, 11 rpms. Low hum but audible at the house.
    10:55 PM Wind W, calm. Turbines turning slow and fairly quiet. I can hear turbines 4 and 6.
    12:15AM Wind NW, 6 knots, 16 rpms, dba 45.6, dbc 60.8. I could hear turbine 4 while watching TV so I
    went outside to make sure it was the turbine. Turbine 4 and 6 are very loud whoosh. Turbine 6
    is ¾ of a mile away. We probably hear both tonight watching TV from our family room.

September 30 –

6;30 AM Wind NW, 7 knots, 13.6 rpms, cloudy, dba 43.9, dbc 59.3. I hear turbine 4
 loud and turbine 6 a little less.
5:10 PM. No facts other than wind from NW and it has been loud all day. I am tense and have crackling in my left ear. That is now every day even if I do not mention it.
10:05 PM Wind W, 17.3 rpms, dba 47.0, dbc 66.8. Turbines 4 and 6 loud, ripping the sky apart sound and jet flying over sound. Very bad. Our son saw the speed and said, “It will be a bad night”.  He was correct. He did not sleep at all this night.