Download the entire Brownsville Diary by clicking here
This is a wind turbine noise log kept by a family who live 3/4 miles east of South Byron in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. The new wind turbines went on line the first week of March, 2008
The Diary Begins March 3, 2008:
Our family lives on County Road Y in Brownsville, Wisconsin, which is about 3⁄4 of mile east of South Byron.
Turbine # 4 is 1560 feet behind my house.
Turbine # 3a is about 500 feet mostly east and a little north of turbine #4.
Turbine #6 is about 3⁄4 of mile to the northwest of our home.
Across the road, mostly south and slightly west is turbine #73 at a distance of 2480 feet.
Down the hill to the west is turbine #74a which is about 3⁄4 of a mile away.
We can hear all five of these turbines at various times.
The following is a log of our experiences with wind turbine noise
March 3, 2008
Turbine #4 turning slow for the first time. 10:00 pm I went out to check the fire and I looked up in the sky to try and see the jet flying over. It was not a jet, but the turbine.
March 6, 2008
Same sound as Wednesday the 3rd of March
March 7, 2008
Turbine sound. Our 13 year old son, complained of a headache. He had not been told headaches being one of the side effects of turbine noise. My wife and I were concerned about how the turbine noise would affect him. He has become our son via social services with many problems. His ears are like that of Radar on MASH. He hears sounds before we do, such as fire department sirens.
March 8, 2008
Saturday AM. Loudest so far. Like jet in sky with whoosh to it. I have not written every day. That does not mean the turbine sound is not there. I feel we may never have peace and quiet ever again. We can only hope there are days with no breeze.
March 10, 2008
5pm. Sounds like a high flying jet. 10pm Low flying jet. At 10pm loudest I have heard it. My son still has headache.
March 18, 2008
#4 not turning but could hear whose of #6. We could hear the turbines daily so if there is no record that does not mean there was no sound.
March 25, 2008
Could hear whoosh of #3a. #4 not turning at 4:45 PM. At 5:30PM #6 turning with jet sound of whoosh of turning blades.
Our son is a foster child we adopted. He has lots of issues which are mostly behavior but also include mental problems. If we just stopped by to talk and you interacted with him you would not know, but tick him off and you would see it. He is like Radar on MASH in that he usually hears sirens before we do. My wife was concerned about his health when talk began about turbines and then we received information about health issues. Our son does not know about the health issues from us or from anyone talking about them.
Soon after #4 began turning he had a bad headache. It lasted about four days or he mentioned them for four days. At school there is a complicated way to help him try and behave and do his schoolwork. He does not focus and is angered easily. So there is a level system with level 4 being the best and in level 1 he is in solitary confinement and cannot go to his regular classes. Level 3 he is in the special ed. Room with other students. Level 2 he is in the special ed room but kept from other students. For about two weeks he did well and stayed at level 4. After the turbine began turning and the headaches he has now gone to level 1. I should also say he can only go up or down one level in a day. Since Wednesday he has told teachers and the principal and us that his head is spinning and in some cases he tells us that his head is spinning 100 miles an hour. I would guess it has a connection to his behavior at school. Sometimes we can hear the turbine while in our house.
March 26, 2008
#4, #3a & #6 running. Can distinguish between #3a and #4 jet sound whoosh.
March 27, 2008
Fairly quiet
March 28, 2008
Not much wind. Slow turn. Not much noise.
March 29, 2008
Wind from SE. Jet sound with only slight wind.
March 30, 2008
Turbines around us not running much.
March 31, 2008
6AM Jet sound. 10PM fog, drizzle. Woosh sound.
April 1, 2008
Wind NW 14 mph. 6:15AM #4 not running. I hear #6 with jet sound.
2:30 PM tower #6 still very loud.
April 2, 2008
6AM. Wind from the SW. #4 jet sound. Now hearing #73 and #74a as the have come on line. In the afternoon #74 is louder than #73.
April 3, 2008
6AM Some sound from #4
April 4, 2008
6AM #4 turning slow, no wind. 11PM #4 and 73 loud and sound like jet going over
April 5, 2008
Our son could not sleep and was up at 1:30 AM. I sent him back to bed and went to our family room in the north end of the house. I could hear turbine #6 from inside the house. Remember that turbine is 3⁄4 of a mile from our house. I turned on the TV (low sound) and could still hear the turbine.
7:30 AM Definitely that jet sound from #4.
Can also hear #’s 3a, 6 and 73. I had a brief unusual feeling in my head somewhat like when one gets off a roller coaster. This was around 11:00AM. This is the loudest the sound has been since March 5th. At 11pm still that jet sound.
April 6, 2008
6-6:15 AM. Wind from the South. Turbine #’s 4, 6, 73, 74a all turning. Jet sound as soon as I went out the house door. 9AM #’s 6 &73 loudest. 10PM #4 quite loud. Saturday has been the worst day so far.
April 7, 2008
5:30 AM Can hear the turbines easy.
10:00 PM Quietest in 3 days
April 8, 2008
Drizzle and not many turbines turning at 10PM. #4 some sound
April 9, 2008
My wife told me she had a headache Friday through Monday with turbines turning. She had no headache Tuesday. Turbine was not turning. This morning she told me she has a headache and asked me if the turbine is turning. Yes it is.
April 10, 2008
Fairly quiet today.
April 11, 2008
6AM Could hear the woosh but turbines were hidden in fog. 3:00 PM Loud, jet sound with strong south wind.
April 12, 2008
7:00 AM #4 Jet sound with whoosh sound. At breakfast I asked my son if he could hear the turbines in the house. “Yes, and I hear them in my room,” he said, “Some nights I can’t sleep” His room is upstairs in the SW corner of the house. As I sit below his room (inside the house) I can hear the turbine.
April 12, 2008–
7AM #4 jet sound with whoosh sound. At breakfast asked (my son) if he could hear the turbines in the house. “Yes, and I hear them in my room”, he said. “Some nights I can’t sleep”. His room is upstairs on the SW corner of the house. As I sit below his room (inside the house) I can hear the turbine at this moment.
9:30PM #4 not running, however I can hear the jet sound of #6.
I didn’t realize how feisty the wind people are.... Two farmers I have talked to are really angry about how they were treated. That is, once the contract was signed it meant the contractors could go where ever they wanted to on the farmer’s land. One also had issues as to the placement of the tower road, he wanted it on the fence line or to take out the fence line to minimize land loss. He was told it would cost too much to re-survey the land. He told me that if they wind people came to his door now, he would tell them to leave. The farmers said they were not told about the interduct or collection system that would be going through their land. Any complaints made to (the wind developer) was met with “it’s in your contract.”
April 13, 2008–
6AM #4 jet sound. Light wind but can hear #6. 10PM
#4 turning but sound is quiet.
April 14, 2008
– 9AM No turbines going and all is quiet. Very nice. No sound, like that of the plane grounding after 9-11. All 86 turbines were still. Thought there must be problem.
Late afternoon--
They began turning again. By 10PM the noise of the jet flyover was back.
April 15 2008
Turbine #4 not turning. #73 is loud. I could hear it in the house. I felt something unusual at the base of the back of my neck. Too loud.
3PM #4 turning. My wife says the sound, “Is loud”.
It may have happened before, however today is the first day that I noticed that our dog stopped while walking from the house about 20 feet down the sidewalk to look North at the turbine.
April 16 2008–
During the day the wind is strong. The weather man says the wind will be 25-35 miles per hour. So strong that I don’t hear the turbines very much.
From 6PM to 10PM the turbines were loud. I could hear #’s 4, 73, and 74a. Jet sound or like waiting for two trains to crash. We house a 360 (cubic inch) sprint car at our house. Tonight it was run for the first time this year. One of the guys mentioned he could hear the turbine (#4) over the sound of the race car engine while it idled. He was standing between the tire and the engine or right next to the engine. The car has no muffler.
Earlier my wife said she worked outside all afternoon in the wind and her ears were fine. When the wind died down and could hear the three of the turbines her ears hurt. She also mentioned the whooshes between turbines were out of sync.
It is 11:27 PM. I am at the computer and can hear #73 from inside my house with no windows open. When I went to bed my head felt “different”. I felt lightheaded or dizzy with my stomach not feeling quite right as well. We had spent much of the evening raking leaves and cleaning the yard.
April 17, 2008 - Jet sound some of the day.
April 18, 2008 – Fairly quiet.
April 19, 2008 – Wind from the North very slow so the sound is quiet.
April 20, 2008 – There is a little wind, sound fairly quiet jet sound at 6AM
April 21, 2008-
6AM. The sound had been quiet over the weekend. Now it is back to its irritating sound.
10:30 PM can hear #73 like a train winding down the tracks. #4 sounds like a jet flying over. Only a slight wind on the ground.
April 22, 2008 –
6AM some sound.
3PM, sounds like a train. Could also hear # 73. 10PM like a train under a
load pulling a load of heavy cars up the Byron hill.
That hill is about 2 miles away.
April 28 – Quite peaceful today
April 29 –
6AM. Turbine turning slow with little sound.
3PM Turbine not turning.
It has been a peaceful today, however now, 10:30 PM turbine #4 is back to it’s rather loud sound, somewhat like a large train engine under load with the whooshing sound of the blades.
It is midnight and I can hear #4 from my dining room.
April 30 – 5:30 AM low noise.
3 PM. Moderate noise.
9:30 PM. Jet sound our like having your car window open 1/8” while driving down the free way…annoying.
May 1 – 6 AM. Fairly quiet
May 2 – 6 AM. Not much sound.
3 PM. Louder.
7 PM. Wind is from the south or a little south west. This is the loudest sound in 3 or 4 days. We can hear turbines 4, 6 & 73. Number 4 sounds like a jet flying over, number 73 a deep sounding thunk. Sitting at the computer at 11 PM. I can hear turbine sounds. Our oldest son (age 33) said, “When it is calm it sounds like the generator humming. When it is windy I hear air going through the blades”.
May 3 – 6 AM. I have not been outside yet this morning, but I can hear turbine #4 or #73 (or both) while in the house. Someone chose 50 db of sound as being a standard or OK or as an acceptable sound level. What ever the level by whomever it was, this is not acceptable.
5:30 PM. Loud jet sound. I can hear turbine #4 from our mailbox which is another 150’ added to 1560’ and the length of our house. Weekends seem to be loud. I can hear low sound of #4 inside the house.
11 PM. Loud jet sound. I can hear #4 and #73.
May 4 – 7AM. Turbine is turning slow and quiet.
12:30 PM. 30’ from the house door turbine #4 sounds like the F16’s flying over at the NASCAR race at Brooklyn, Michigan. I can also hear the sound in the house as I write this. I can also hear turbine #73, keeping in mind that 73 is 2480’away from the house. Does that suggest that the 1000’ or 1800’ is not enough set back from the turbines that energy companies and the PSC say make little or no noise? It sounds like a political campaign: Tell the lies now and hope the constituents forget or deal with reality later.
Tonight turbine #73 and #4 seemed to be fighting with each other. They both are loud. I walked closer to turbine #4 so that I was 1350’ away. That meant I was 2690’ from turbine #73. That’s 100’ more than half a mile away and it was louder than turbine #4. The wind at ground level was straight from the S-SW. In the inside front of the house I can hear turbine #73. In my family room in the back of the house (56’ long) I hear turbine #6 or #4. It is not the sound of a jet flying over or a whoosh, but more like hearing your heart beat with a stethoscope.
May 5 – 5:30 AM. Same sound as last night.
6:30 PM How nice. It is calm and all the turbines are still. The robins and cardinals are happy too I hear them chirping. I had not noticed them when the turbines are loud. I will pay closer attention to listen for that in the future.
May 6 – 5:15AM. I can hear turbines 4 and 73 quite loud.
4:30 PM. Turning quietly.
11:00 PM. I have the kitchen door and combination door open. It is loud with the two turbines sounding like they are fighting to see who can win at being the loudest.
11:30 PM. I am sitting by the computer. I can hear turbine #73 grinding away. Remember that one is 2480’ away from the house. Usually I get past the large pine tree 30’ from the house before the sound gets my attention. Tonight the turbine sound was loud on the porch just outside the house door.
May 7 – 6:15 AM. Again the loud sound right outside the door. For the people that say “Oh, you will get used to it”, you are wrong. The sound is getting more aggravating and annoying.
3:20 PM. I have been neglecting turbine #6 for a while. I won’t today. At the moment it is louder than turbine #4. In case you don’t care to go way back to the beginning of this log turbine #6 is about ¾ of mile away or about 3960’ away + or - a few feet. That would give the impression that a 1000’ set back approved by the WI PSC is certainly insufficient and inept.
11:15 PM. Turbine #4 is moderately grinding away. Our 13 year old son had some late school work to do. He went to bed at 10:00PM. He should be tired. At 10:40 he came down stairs and to our bedroom where I was talking on the phone. He had an over sized piece of paper that he had drawn a picture of a wind turbine on. Yes, he should have been sleeping, however he couldn’t sleep. He had opened his window because it was nice outside and could hear the turbines #73 and #4 from his open window. Probably turbine #73 because that window faces the south toward turbine #73. He also had a headache. This morning at the table for breakfast healso complained that he still had a little bit of a headache.
May 8 – 5:45 AM. Turbines are slow moving and quiet.
10:00 PM. Quiet.
May 9 – 6:00 AM. Only a few of the 86 turbines are turning. From somewhere on my property or the center of the road I can see all 86 of turbines in this wind farm. It is very peaceful and quiet.
10:30 PM. Peaceful and quiet. It is rare.
May 10 –
6:30 AM. Turbine #4 is turning slow. I can hear the turbine while walking in the back
of our property.
11:30 PM. I can hear #73.
May 11 –
7:30 AM. My wife did not sleep well last night.
The turbines are not very loud at this time.
12:15 PM. to 5:00 PM. The wind is from the north with the sound of a jet flying over, very annoying.
9:30 PM. I can hear the beating sound of turbine #4 while sitting at the computer.
10:20 PM. The turbine is loud and violent, ripping through the night sky. Late this afternoon I took a pain killer for my headache. I can’t think of when I took a pain-killer for a headache. At least a year as it is extremely rare for me to have a head-ache. I did not sleep well. This has happened several times when hearing the turbines from inside the house.
May 12 –
5:30 AM. Moderate sound.
4:45 PM. I can hear turbine #4 over road traffic in front of our house.
11:00 PM. Jet sound.
May 13 2008
5:20 AM I can hear turbine #73 from in the bathroom.
6:15 AM. I am walking in the yard and can hear a number of the turbines. I walked away from #73 toward #4. When I was about 2737’ from turbine #73 it is still very loud, but now is close to the sound of #4.
3:30 PM. Turbine continues to be loud.
4 to 7 PM. I worked in the garden. There were times when it sounded like a Chinook helicopter doing heavy work. Very loud.
9:00 PM. Turbines #4 and #73 are ripping through the sky. At times #73 is loud like blasting in a stone quarry. A loud, pounding sound. I hear them while at the computer once in the house.
A letter from Maine dated March 26, 2008 by Mark and Kate Harris
(Read it at its source by clicking here)
You have asked for a description of how our lives have been affected by the wind farm on Mars Hill. These comments may be used in any way you please in assisting your town in making their decisions. I serve three congregations here as their pastor and my wife is an administrator in the area hospital. We moved here four years ago, coming from Vermont. We reside in the town of Bridgewater, Maine, which is eight miles from Mars Hill. We have purchased eighty acres on Mars Hill with the intension of building a home and living there when we retire. Unfortunately this cannot happen with the wind farm destroying the peace and safety of the residents all along the east and north sides of the mountain.
What has convinced us that we not invest ourselves and our life savings here are our own observations, not what someone else has said. Over the past four years we have been working on establishing our boundaries, cutting in roads, developing a potable water source, thinning and pruning a maple sugar orchard, releasing and pruning apple trees, and establishing the best site for our house. In the last year, it has become increasingly clear that we will not be able to tolerate the intermittent and intense sounds coming from the turbines. When the wind comes from the west or the northwest, there is a rhythmic pounding that exceeds the permitted level of sound, namely in excess of fifty decibels. The nature of the sound is that it has a major low frequency component that makes the sound penetrate homes. My own experience is that when I am cutting with my chainsaw, when I put on my helmet with the hearing protectors, the sound actually penetrates the protectors. They block out the sounds of birds, wind, tree in the wind, brook babble, but not the relentless pounding of the turbines. The sound penetrates Wendy Todd's home when we have meetings there, as well as Merle Copperwaithes home when we meet there.
We are greatly disappointed that there is no one to address our plight. My neighbors along the Mountain Road are discouraged with the lack of integrity of the town fathers, the Department of Environmental Protection, and U. P. C., the farm's developers, who all have just abandoned us to our plight. The notion of this being "clean power" is untrue. It is morally and ethically unclean. The town was lied to by representatives of the investors, the town fathers did not read the application before they co-signed the application, the DEP did not and still does not have the expertise to assess or monitor the wind farm and U. P. C. cannot be trusted. We do not have wind farm specific laws to protect us from these uncontrolled forces. You are at great risk if you let these people into your town. With an investment of eighty-five million dollars, people's judgment begins to erode.
I was trained as a biologist and worked in medical research and the food industry and my wife is a hospital administrator. The health field is an unanswered question when it comes to turbines near homes. We have seen research that is coming out regarding the health problems involved with long term exposure to the wind turbines. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have more documentation than we do. The World Health Organization has recommended a two kilometer distance between a turbine and a dwelling. We have turbines within a thousand feet of a dwelling with children in the family.
Your risk at the hands of these uninformed and overzealous and unscrupulous people is large. Let them put the turbines in wilderness areas and not near dwellings. Better safe than sorry as my grandfather used to put it.
I hope this letter may be of some use to you. There are others in our group who have better firsthand experience than I. I hope they will assist you. Wendy and Perrin Todd have given of themselves to this community and you can trust them. They are good people and not just some whacks. They have integrity in our community and you can trust what they tell you. Any mud slung at them will not stick. They have served this community well.
If there is anything else we can do, let us know. May God help you as there is no one else presently able to if you should let these turbines come to town.
(THIS LETTER AND MORE CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING HERE)
WATCH INTERVIEWS WITH FARMERS AND OTHER RURAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ACTUALLY LIVE NEAR WIND FARMS BY CLICKING HERE
If you have any trouble watching these videos you can contact us and we will send you a dvd version at no charge. Please contact us either by email or by regular mail by writing us at
Better Plan, Rock County
PO Box 393
Footville, WI 53537
If you only have 11 minutes, please watch "The Wind Farm at Little Bay: How Close is Too Close" It will give you a good overview of what the concerns are.
If you have 20 minutes, you can watch "Welcome to Mars Hill" which includes interviews with members of a rural community whose lives have been changed by the building of a windfarm
Or, you can watch "Voices of Tug Hill" to hear what farmers and hunters and other rural working people have to say about impact the windfarm has had on their lives, and on the drastically decreased game population since the windfarms came to their area.
Any of these will let you know what our community is facing with this serious issue.
MORE WORDS FROM PEOPLE WHO LIVE NEAR WIND TURBINES
(from the Naples Record, November 3, 2004, "Fenner Wind Farm Developers Made and Broke Many Promises" Letter to the Editor from Pastor Kathleen Danley)
To the Editor:
My husband and I own a home in the township of Fenner, New York, and it is located in the middle of the Madison wind farm. I am not, and never have been, against wind power, but I want people to be well aware of the negative side of these giant windmills before allowing them to be built in your neighborhoods.
We have always believed that our neighbors had the right to use their property as they feel appropriate. In fact, we were even somewhat supportive of the project in our area. Our home also sits well away from the setback distances called for by zoning.
Unfortunately, we were not given all of the facts, or we were given somewhat twisted information. We were told that the windmills had been redesigned so as not to be noisy, but the grinding noise goes on 24 hours a day (when they are operating) and at times is far worse than other times.
From our bedroom window we can see no fewer than five towers and from the living room another two. On a stormy night the wind howls through our bedroom like a freight train -- yes, I know, the blades stop when the wind reaches a certain velocity, but nevertheless, they don't magically disappear. The wind continues to hit them, greatly increasing the sound that travels over them. In the middle of the summer we cannot enjoy our yard or have the windows open because these machines constantly grind and have a negative effect on one's nerves. When at the house I find that my nerves are constantly on edge.
We also have lost our television reception and were forced to purchase a satellite dish. Prior to the towers we always had very good reception of the local stations and generally had two to three more. Now it is impossible to get any of those stations. Incidentally, there is no cable in our area. The wind tower builders/management have more than once promised to look into this situation but have done nothing. They do not answer phone calls or follow up on appointments that they make with us.
Out of necessity to aviation there are lights on top of the towers, which now flash directly into our bedroom and living room windows all through the night necessitating the closing of the blinds and robbing us of the view of our own backyard and God's gift of nature -- one of the main reasons we moved to the country in the first place.
Should your area decide to go ahead with the projects, I would suggest that cell phone towers be built into the towers. This was not done in our area and there is terrible cell phone coverage. To increase the coverage more towers now need to be built and I don't see that happening any time soon.
I have also found that the discussion to have or not have wind towers in a neighborhood has pitted neighbor against neighbor in some cases and long friendships have struggled. I find this to be very sad and a huge detriment.
The wind farm in our home area has also brought much traffic to the area that we never had to deal with in the past. Drivers stop and gawk in the middle of the road becoming a hazard to those who simply want to get to work or possibly to a store or doctor appointment, etc.
Promises have been made and broken over and over again, and I find that also to be an extremely sad situation.
I pray that you can find a way to work through many of the issues without having such a huge impact on those living nearby.
Pastor Kathleen Danley, Fenner NY
(The Research Nerd Says: "In our Video Links section, we have a video of a gentleman who has a positive experience with living near the Fenner Windfarm in NY. Here is a letter from a resident near the same wind farm who is having quite the opposite experience. We don't believe either party is lying. We believe that the trouble with industrial windfarms has everything to do with where you live in relation to the turbines. The same turbine will cause different problems for different residents. Some experience no problem at all. Some have been driven from their homes by noise and strobe shadows. Neither of these residents is lying.")