What's it like to live in the 86 turbine Invenergy Forward Energy wind project?

Home in Invenergy Forward Energy project, Fond du Lac County--- photo by Gerry Meyer 2009

Here are two recent notes to Better Plan from the Meyer Family. They are residents of the Invenergy Forward Energy wind project near the Town of Byron in Fond du Lac county. 

Since the turbines went online near their home two years ago, they have had trouble sleeping, increased blood pressure, ringing and crackling in the ears and headaches. Cheryl has been taking sleeping medication, something she never needed before the turbines started up.

The closest turbine to their home is less than 1600 feet.

From Cheryl Meyer

March 8, 2010

"The turbines are so loud that our dog, Trigger, goes to the backroom window and barks at them.

It sounds like a snowplow driving around the house full bore with its blade down.

I find it interesting the last few days that when I go out with the dog he goes so far down the sidewalk and then turns and looks north to the turbine. He stares at it a few seconds and then moves on.

 But they have been usually loud the last two days. Just thought I would let you know.  

 Cheryl

March 9, 2010

From Gerry Meyer:

Cheryl has a really bad headache.

 She has tried Imatrex or the shot three times in three days, so today went to the Doctor....

The message Cheryl wrote you was when I was in LA. I remember her telling me that the turbines sounded like snow plow coming through the house.

You could add that Trigger barked because that is what he does when a vehicle comes in the driveway. The turbine was so loud he thought a plow was in the driveway.

Gerry

This video was shot by Gerry Meyer from his porch.

NOTE FROM THE BPWI RESEARCH NERD:

On February 18th, I spent another night in the Meyer home to get a better idea of what they are living with and was kept up well past three in the morning by a thumping from the turbines that seemed to come from all directions.

The only thing I can compare it to is the bass sound you hear coming from a car with powerful speakers. You feel the noise as well as hear it. It was impossible to sleep until it finally stopped.

The typical turbine jet sounds and whooshing were louder outdoors than indoors, but the low thumping was penetrating and much louder inside the home than outside the home. This was especially so on the second floor.

The Meyer family home is a typical wood framed old farm house found throughout rural Wisconsin. The Meyer's young son often goes to bed with two radios playing, one on either side of his head to counteract the turbine noise.

WANT MORE? CLICK HERE TO READ TODAY'S "WIND TURBINES IN THE NEWS"

3/11/10 Clean and green? Or dirty and red-handed? AND Greed is a bi-partisan affair: a look at AWEA CEO's 'cleansed' bio

3/10/10 DOUBLE FEATURE: Look what they've done to our ridgetop, Ma.... How do you get 200 tons worth of wind turbine up a fragile road?

AND Got trouble forcing your wind project onto a rural community? Why bother with local government when you can change federal legislation? All it takes is five million dollars worth of lobbyists doing their green jobs

 Grease and oil on Fond du Lac County turbine towers.

Home in a Fond du Lac County wind project: February 2010

Morrison residents reject wind farm in 245-18 vote

Vote asks Town Board to block proposal for 54 turbines

SOURCE: Greenbay Press-Gazette

By Tony Walter

March 9, 2010

MORRISON — Town residents voted decisively against wind turbines Monday night. 

Packing the gymnasium at Zion Lutheran School, residents and property owners campaigned against the effort of Chicago-based Invenergy LLC, whose project is in the hands of the Public Service Commission. In all, 20 people spoke, and only one supported the wind turbines. 

The Town Board meets at 7 p.m. today, but Chairman Todd Christensen said the wind turbine issue will not be on the agenda.

He said it will likely be addressed at the annual town meeting in April.

Jon Morehouse, a 20-year-resident of Morrison, proposed the four-part strategy that would:

BADGERS HELPING BADGERS GET IT RIGHT:

There is finally some good news for Wisconsin wind farm residents having trouble with turbine noise and shadow-flicker.

A new organization called Healthy Wind, Wisconsin (HWW) will advocate on behalf of those who feel their complaints are not being taken seriously by the wind company.

If you are a resident experiencing turbine-related problems in one of Wisconsin's industrial wind projects CLICK HERE to visit the Healthy Wind, Wisconsin website

From the HWW website:

"Healthy Wind, Wisconsin (HWW) is an all-volunteer independent Wisconsin-based community group working to ensure that the placement of large wind turbines is protective of family's health and safety. We have multiple years of experience in researching information in regard to wind turbine siting. Our members have participated in drafting large wind turbine ordinances that have been adopted by Town Boards. We have testified at local and state public hearings concerning this issue, and have offered our assistance to other citizen groups outside of Wisconsin.

We are committed to:

• Assisting residents living in wind facilities with complaint resolution.

• Compiling a data base of all complaints to channel toward the appropriate local, county and state agencies.

• Advocate for responsible siting to minimize the adverse impacts of noise, shadow flicker, and sleep disturbance.

• Put people into the renewable energy equation by providing education and awareness on the issues.

Healthy Wind, Wisconsin’s mission is to keep active track of wind-related health issues affecting Wisconsin families. We are committed to assisting residents' of Wisconsin who have been impacted by poorly sited wind turbines by processing resident’s complaints and monitoring the progress toward complaint resolution.

SECOND FEATURE:

Judge dismisses Trempealeau County wind lawsuit

SOURCE: Winona Daily News

By Dustin Kass | dustin.kass@lee.net | Posted: Friday, February 19, 2010

A Wisconsin judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Trempealeau County's wind ordinance, which critics have called one of the strictest in the country.

Judge John Damon dismissed the claims presented by Ron and Mary Winn of Galesville, Wis., when he granted summary judgment in favor of the county, according to court documents filed earlier this month. The Winns were challenging a county zoning ordinance that prevented the erection of wind turbines on land they were going to rent out to a wind development company. But a new state initiative made the case moot, attorneys say.

Mary Winn declined to comment for this story, and the Winns' attorney, Taavi McMahon, did not return a call for comment.

Wind development in Trempealeau County has been a hot-button issue since 2006, when an investment group called AgWind Energy Partners approached the county board with a request to look into three potential sites for a wind farm.

County board members enacted three moratoriums on wind development in response, before passing the restrictive ordinance in December 2007. It requires turbines more than 150 feet high to be at least one mile from the nearest homes and half a mile from neighboring property lines. Most commercial wind towers are about 300 feet. Additional required setbacks in the ordinance keep turbines away from roads, railroads and wildlife refuges.

The ordinance directly affected the Winns. AgWind had proposed renting 160 acres the Winns owned near Ettrick, Wis., for its proposed wind farm.

The Winns filed suit in June 2009, alleging the ordinance prevents commercial wind development anywhere in the county and doesn't comply with state laws and policies.

Trempealeau County denied those allegations and asserted its authority to create the wind ordinance.

Ultimately, Damon's ruling did not weigh in on the legality of the ordinance, but decided the Winns' claims were moot.

That action was based on a bill passed by Wisconsin legislators last fall calling for state regulators to create uniform site regulations for wind farms throughout the state, said attorney Mark Skolos, who represented Trempealeau County. Those regulations, when complete, will trump all local ordinances.

NOTE FROM THE BPWI RESEARCH NERD: At present there are no guidelines for siting industrial scale wind projects in the state of Wisconsin. A Town or County can still protect itself by adopting ordinances and moratoria. CLICK HERE to read why your Town needs and ordinance and how to go about getting it on the books.

THIRD FEATURE:

Important tips for landowners to know

SOURCE: KQHA News

By Jarod Wells
Monday, February 22, 2010 at 5:28 p.m.

PITTSFIELD, ILL. -- Illinois currently has 800 wind turbines in the state. And over the next five to ten years, the state could see five times more wind power as more turbines are built.

That's why the Illinois Farm Bureau has been holding talks across the state to inform land owners of their rights when entering a lease with a wind energy company.

One of those presentations was held in Pike County Monday, February 22nd.

An attorney with the Illinois Farm Bureau says one of the things he points out to land owners, is that wind turbine leases are usually long term, sometimes up to 90 years.

"We always encourage people to understand how long the contract is going to last. Talk about it with their family, attorney, accountant, anyone involved in their farming operations we want them to talk to because this is going to impact not just them but their grand kids as well," said Illinois Farm Bureau Attorney Ryan Gammelgard.

"Another thing we always recommend they look at is what rights are they going to have under the contract. Are they still going to be able to do their normal day to day farming operations, or is their farming operation going to be subordinate to the wind energy company," said Gammelgard.

The attorney with the Illinois Farm Bureau says many times land owners just focus on how much they'll get paid to put a turbine on their property.

But they don't realize their farming operations will be affected.

For example you may not be able to use aerial sprayer on your farmland once a turbine is installed.

KHQA was also told lease agreements are very complex and can be up to 40 pages long.

So it's not something you should just sign.



Note from the BPWI Research Nerd:

The complaints of wind farm residents in our state have been routinely met with eye-rolling dismissiveness from wind companies, developers and lobbyists.

Recently, some wind farm residents have noted significant weight gain since the turbines have gone on line.

It's a claim that may seem easy to mock. That is until you look at the science that ties lack of sleep to increased risk of obesity, as this article from London Times as recently done.

The article is followed by abstracts of recently published papers which support these findings.

Does Tiredness Make You Fat?

Source: London Times

Recent research has suggested that a lack of sleep is associated with increased risk of some cancers, heart disease and diabetes. There’s also an increasing consensus that lack of sleep can contribute to obesity. The reason is that our vital hormonal systems regulate and reset the body at night. Our nocturnal functions are vital to our daytime wellbeing.

Sleeplessness makes you fat
Kidney filtration and bowel activity reduce at night. There is little evidence that eating shortly before sleeping, leaving food in an inactive gut, has any ill effect apart from leaving you feeling a bit full in the morning. Though some diet gurus say that eating carbohydrates before bedtime makes you put on weight, it shouldn’t make a difference because your metabolism is working more slowly.

But the hormones that regulate your metabolism and hunger levels do change with sleep. Studies by the National Sleep Foundation in America have revealed that sleep keeps down the levels of an appetite-driving hormone called ghrelin. It also keeps up levels of the hormone leptin, which prevents the body from thinking that it needs more food. In other words, sleep helps you to keep slim, while lack of sleep can contribute to obesity. Experiments indicate that restricting sleep can mean that your body thinks it is short of up to 900 calories a day.

Brain and senses
Our brains career on a rollercoaster of changing activity as we go through the phases of sleep — non-rapid eye movement sleep, which includes light sleep, true sleep and deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is when we dream. As sleep deepens, most brain cells fire off less rapidly, but in a far more co-ordinated pattern than during waking hours. With sleep, our eye movements change, darting around wildly during REM sleep. Our mouths become dry but our ears remain alert to noise.

Increased immunity
The immune system is more active at night. Experiments have shown that during sleep it releases more proteins called cytokines, which mean that the system can launch co-ordinated attacks on invaders. Research from Stanford University indicates that the immune system fights invading bacteria hardest at night, and least during the day. In fact, there are studies showing that if we don’t sleep, we become more susceptible to infection from colds. Malcolm von Schantz, associate dean at the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, says that this is why asthma attacks — which can be caused by an overreaction of the immune system — are more common at night.

Skin renewal
Our skin changes at night as it receives extra supplies of blood. Research by cosmetics companies suggests that after shearing off layers of surface dead cells in the day, our skin increases the rate of production of new cells in deep sleep. There is some objective evidence too that the skin is improved at night. A study presented to the European Sleep Research Society suggested that people who were sleep-deprived were consistently rated as looking less healthy and attractive, partly because of their skin tone.

Repair and regeneration
The levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, which keep us active during the day, drop in the evening. Instead, the body secretes growth hormones in large amounts, making us grow up until early adulthood. As we get older, growth hormones are responsible for promoting the repair of damaged tissue. The body also produces more melatonin, which helps us to sleep and may also help to protect us against certain types of cancer. Temperature drop Our in-built body clock lowers our temperature by about 1C at night because our body is far more likely to descend into sleep if it is cool. That’s why we tend to feel chilly if we nod off on the sofa. Temperatures fall to their lowest level during the 10 to 30-minute periods of REM when we need to be under a duvet. As morning comes, body temperature rises, which helps us to wake up.

Limb transformation
Several scientists have noticed that limbs, hands and feet tend to become enlarged during sleep. This is possibly because they have become engorged with blood. Our limbs become paralysed during REM sleep, preventing us from acting out our dreams.

Heart and blood
According to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, one function of sleep may be to give the heart a chance to rest from the constant demands of waking life. For most of the night, the heart rate decreases and blood pressure drops as blood is pushed around the body with less and less force. During REM sleep, however, the heart rate increases again.

FINDINGS

SOURCE: European Journal of Endocrinology

Sleep and the epidemic of obesity in children and adults

Eve Van Cauter and Kristen L Knutson

Departments of Medicine, MC1027 Health Studies, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA

This paper was presented at the 5th Ferring International Paediatric Endocrinology Symposium, Baveno, Italy (2008). Ferring Pharmaceuticals has supported the publication of these proceedings.

Sleep is an important modulator of neuroendocrine function and glucose metabolism in children as well as in adults.

In recent years, sleep curtailment has become a hallmark of modern society with both children and adults having shorter bedtimes than a few decades ago. This trend for shorter sleep duration has developed over the same time period as the dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity.

There is rapidly accumulating evidence from both laboratory and epidemiological studies to indicate that chronic partial sleep loss may increase the risk of obesity and weight gain. The present article reviews laboratory evidence indicating that sleep curtailment in young adults results in a constellation of metabolic and endocrine alterations, including decreased glucose tolerance, decreased insulin sensitivity, elevated sympathovagal balance, increased evening concentrations of cortisol, increased levels of ghrelin, decreased levels of leptin, and increased hunger and appetite.

We also review cross-sectional epidemiological studies associating short sleep with increased body mass index and prospective epidemiological studies that have shown an increased risk of weight gain and obesity in children and young adults who are short sleepers.

Altogether, the evidence points to a possible role of decreased sleep duration in the current epidemic of obesity.

FROM The Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Childhood Sleep Time and Long-Term Risk for Obesity:

"Shorter childhood sleep times were significantly associated with higher adult BMI [body mass index] values.

This association remained after adjustment for adult sleep time and the potential confounding effects of early childhood BMI, childhood socioeconomic status, parental BMIs, child and adult television viewing, adult physical activity, and adult smoking.

In logistic regression analyses, more sleep time during childhood was associated with lower odds of obesity at 32 years of age. This association was significant after adjustment for multiple potential confounding factors.

CONCLUSIONS. These findings suggest that sleep restriction in childhood increases the long-term risk for obesity. Ensuring that children get adequate sleep may be a useful strategy for stemming the current obesity epidemic." [Click here for full text]

SECOND FEATURE:

A LETTER FROM A SCHOOL TEACHER IN TURBINE TOWN

Clear Creek, Ontario.  Quiet, peaceful.  The sound of the lake; the overhead passing of migrating geese; tundra swans in the early spring.  Deer and wild turkeys.  Clear starry skies.  Silent except for the sounds of the crickets and bullfrogs.  The sight of a small country church across the way, the church I remember attending as a young girl with my grandmother.

Sounds nice, doesn’t it? That was my retreat of 11 years.  A place I called home, a place I loved, a place I miss. It was my heaven on earth.

My home now sits among huge, massive turbines. Eighteen turbines surround me, all within a 3 km radius of my home.  The closest is 400 metres from my back door.

People often ask me what my problem is with the turbines.  (“They’re not very noisy,” I am told.)

The noise is constant, some days louder than others. It is not noise I enjoy or choose to be around. It is noise I cannot escape.

What most don’t understand is that it is the low frequency waves you cannot hear that are so debilitating to one’s health. These frequencies also drive away the wildlife.  I no longer have deer, geese, swans passing by. These frequencies torment my dogs.  These frequencies keep me awake at night.

Welcome to “Turbine Town” Clear Creek, Ontario.

I live with the movement of shadow flicker created by the rotation of the turbines, coming through my dining room window as I drink my coffee in the morning. I have developed a sensitivity in which now I cannot even tolerate the movement of a small ceiling fan.

The skies where I live are no longer clear but dotted with blinking red lights marking the height of the turbines. When the turbines are down, a constant buzzing noise is emitted from the motionless structures. I have developed tinitus in my ears. I hear and feel the pulsating of the turbines and buzzing in my ears. I also feel the pulsating in my throat and chest.

Two homes have been abandoned where I live because of health reasons related to the effects of the turbines. One of these properties is host to 2 turbines. Many properties are for sale. In fact most of the properties where landowners reside on premises are for sale. Real estate sales in my area are significantly less than other areas in Ontario. Some real estate brokers will not touch a property adjacent to a turbine for fear of future law suit.

Nothing is selling in Turbine Town. Land value has decreased significantly because of the turbines.

There is a dividing of the community.  There are those who have signed leases, many of whom are regretting they were mislead or ill informed regarding the turbines. People are reluctant to speak about the turbine situation. These leases contain “gag orders.”  Many of these people suffer, yet are embarrassed and therefore deny the turbines are the cause of their illness.

I have:

• nausea (often) & dizziness (often)
• significant hearing loss
• itchy eyes
• high blood pressure (recently, an immediate and intense elevation to 180/118, causing severe headache and complete dysfunction)
• heart palpitations
• achy joints
• short term memory loss
• severe sleep deprivation on a regular basis
  

Results of a sleep study I had done showed 214 interruptions in a 6 hour period (note:  6-8 is considered normal; 214 is comparable to someone who has attention deficit disorder). I have very little if any regenerative sleep periods. I have been told that I have developed a sensitivity that does not leave my body when I leave the vicinity of the turbines.  The term used was “toxic”—my body is in a toxic state.

I have an ulcer in my nose that does not heal. I am awaiting an appointment in November with an ears, nose and throat specialist (otolaryngologist).

I often have blood in my urine (never was a problem in the past). I am having problems with my lymph nodes. I have been anaemic because of excessive blood loss. Blood work and other tests do not indicate changes which may cause this hemorrhaging. I have spent time in the emergency room at the hospital because of this.

I once thought my degenerating health was part of the natural aging process. I did not believe the turbines could be the cause of my health issues. I questioned myself as to whether or not it was all in my head. I now believe exposure to the turbines accelerate these processes as well as create other health problems.

I am angry, helpless, and disappointed our government would let something like this happen.  I am appalled at their ignorance and lack of compassion. It saddens me to watch my family and friends suffer from the same effects of the turbines.

It is also very saddening for me to see my dogs suffering. I cannot imagine the distress they must be enduring because of their sensitive hearing. I have not figured out what to do about it.

I spend as much time as I can away from my home, away from my son who is also sleep deprived. We are exhausted and miserable. I often seek refuge with friends, often falling asleep minutes after I arrive. They are very understanding.

I feel like a gypsy.

What was once a beautiful place to live has been destroyed.  And for what? I suggest you think about it long and hard before committing to these huge monstrosities known as industrial wind turbines.
·

TRACY WHITWORTH, School Teacher

Clear Creek, Ontario

CLICK HERE FOR SOURCE

WANT MORE? CLICK HERE TO READ TODAY'S "WIND TURBINES IN THE NEWS"

These comments from a survey of wind farm residents in Ontario echo the experiences of Wisconsin wind farm residents. How long before their voices are heard?  CLICK HERE to download the entire survey

From a woman who has been living on her farm for over 30 years. Closest turbine 800 meters from her home:

"The noise of the turbines is what bothers me. On a windy day, they can sound like a jet is coming right at you. They are much louder than we were led to believe they could be.

In the summer when we have the windows open we have to sleep with the fans running to drown out the constant pulse of the windmills. In the winter, when it is windy, you can still hear & sometimes feel  the pulsing of the windmills right through the walls."

From a 56 year old farmer who has had his place for 35 years. Closest turbine is 800 meters from his home:

1. Had to move out of my home, just come home now to feed the cattle.
2. Our home can’t be sold due to the problem per real estate agent.
3. Family events can’t take place at home
4. Financial problems due to keeping two homes
5. Always sick, depressed and bad tempered when at home but when away for a short time feel much better. (Much better in the second house which I had to buy)
6. Had family problems until we moved out.
7. Feel no cares or believes us.

Bottom line:
They took life away as we knew it before the wind farm, same house, value Φ, sick all the time, financial stress now, world turned upside down.

From a 50 year old sales person: closest turbine 497 meters from her home.

"Noise levels very high. Whooshing noise is very irritating. Cannot sleep anymore. Have horrible vibration in the house and dog very upset. Spend nights on couch with TV and try to block out humming. Extremely tired and not functioning at cognitive and physical levels that I normally would. It is very distressing and invasive. My house is worth nothing now. I could never sell it. Angry, sad, disillusioned, exhausted."

From a 29 year old social worker. Nearest turbine 717 meters from home.

"I am unable to come home to visit my parents as often as I would like. Due to my parents ongoing adverse health effects I feel discouraged & our family dynamic has change. My childhood home no longer feels like  a place to relax & where I can be in a peaceful environment. I am sick over what the turbines have done to my family & community. My quality of life has definitely been affected.