Wind Generator

[bigkim100]

The Evils Of Wind Generation

Interesting article in last weekends paper about the dangers of living close to a wind powered generator. Here in Toronto there is a huge wind generator, close to downtown on the lakeshore that is quite close to a large number of houses.
It seems as though a large number of the houses are plaged with vibrations caused by the generator. The low frequency humming is driving the home owners insane...as well as their dog. The only break they get is on windless days.
Their homes resale value is now zero due to this, and they are now looking to sue the proper government offices...which will probibly not work as the windmill meets all current government noise specs....but this isnt noise...its mostly subsonic, and sonic vibrations.
Makes you wanna rethink living close to the beauty of wind farms.

 

[3v0]

I see this as minor. I am sure the people who live under them do not. But given all the open area there should be no problem finding locations to build them.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Why on earth would they build them near houses?, in the UK we don't have much land available (compared to Canada) but we don't allow them near houses.

 

[Hero999]

Because it's more efficient as there are less transmission losses?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Because it's more efficient as there are less transmission losses?

Are you suggesting that the windmill feeds electricity to those houses?

It will feed the grid, most probably a considerable distance away from the houses.

 

[bigkim100]

The point of placing one where it is, is to show it off as a showcase...so people will see them close-up. There are actually very few windmills here in canada, so the goverment is trying to show them off in a very public place.Until I saw this one, I never realised the sheer size (and beauty) of the things. Its placed on the CNE fairgrounds, which is quite close to the towntown core, but is also in a highly populated area. Every summer the place become s a fair, and hundreds of thousands of people flock to the place...and get to see the thing in action
. The other problem that has been reported is flocks of migrating birds and bats are killed by the blades on a regular basis.
...just who the hell would have thought that hundreds of families would be slowly driven insane by the noise generated by it. As well, how are they going to move???!! they have dumped their life savings into a house, that they now cannot sell...or at least have to sell at well below market value.
So ...what if your neighbour decides to erect a giant windmill in his back yard a few feet away from your house??, or even covers his house with Solar Cells, lowering the property value of all the houses around it?
Just a reminder that even the "perfect" means of power generation can have serious offsets to contend with that need to be considered..

 

[3v0]

. The other problem that has been reported is flocks of migrating birds and bats are killed by the blades on a regular basis.
...just who the hell would have thought that hundreds of families would be slowly driven insane by the noise generated by it. .

The problem is caused by goverment that placed it there. If it is that bad they should turn it off and move it. I have heard the statement about birds many times but have not seen anything to back it up. For all I know it could be propagand from existing big energy.

In regards to the sound. I do not know how bad it is. I used to live a few feet from a railway. The second floor apartment shook and swayed everytime a train went by. After a few weeks we got used to it.

I suspect there is a real and a hype component to the noise issue. Again I do not know.

I find it interesting that when things are done right they also have a natural beauty.

3v0

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

...just who the hell would have thought that hundreds of families would be slowly driven insane by the noise generated by it.

Anyone who looked in to it, and certainly the installers knew about it - why do you think they are always mounted in remote areas?.

So ...what if your neighbour decides to erect a giant windmill in his back yard a few feet away from your house??, or even covers his house with Solar Cells, lowering the property value of all the houses around it?

He applies for planning permission, all the neighbours object, and permission is refused - as simple as that. Although to be honest, you wouldn't get planning permission under such circumstances even without neighbour objections.

Some round here were refused after mass objections from a village who would be able to see them on the horizon!

 

[Thunderchild]

hm this is strange, I live not far from burton latimer (UK) and have been to the wind farm, right under a windmill and at some distance. Now I am particuly supseptable to subsonic sound, it makes me feel unwell (as does low atmospheric air pressure) and I had no problems at all, yes I could here a slight beating but nothing too disturbing. No here they are not placed particuly close to houses. birds are also not an issue at all its coblas what they say about birds, again at the same farm I've seen birds quire happily flying among the turning blades of the windmills. according to the farmer there has only ever been one dead bird found on the farm and this could not be said to be caused by the windmills.

 

[bigkim100]

Well, from what I can tell, the sounds are not transmitted thru the air, but thru the ground, then thru the basements of the houses, then into the walls. I guess that this would be dependant on the type of wind generator, ground density, frequencies involved...etc etc.
As far as the birds and the bats, this problem has been documented throughout North America as a problem at many different sites, and again, may be dependant on flight patterns, density, species of local birds...etc.
Or maybe European birds and bats are just smarter than North American.

 

[3v0]

When asked about the impact of wind generators a rancher replied that they made more money then the livestock and the towers provided shade for the cattle.

There are worst cases where generators should not have been constructed. The people who do not want to see wind energy have over hyped these cases. Propagand to slow development.

There are so many locations where wind farms will work without trouble that it is nonsense to build them where they will cause problems. In north america there is a band that starts in texas (maybe mexico) and run north into canada. The wind in much of this region is idea for wind farms and most of the area has a very low population.

3v0

 

[duffy]

Seems like there ought to be a way to build some barrier against this, a fence or something, even if it's transmitted through the ground it seems like the windmill could be put on some sort of mount to damp the vibrations. Even if the windmill had to be mounted on a concrete block, and the mass of the block damped, it seems like this is a tractable problem that can be measured and compensated for.

or even covers his house with Solar Cells, lowering the property value of all the houses around it?

Wait - what?

 

[Willbe]

define: nimby - Google Search

 

[duffy]

I know, but who's going to object to solar cells on the roof?

 

[tresca]

Interesting article in last weekends paper about the dangers of living close to a wind powered generator. Here in Toronto there is a huge wind generator, close to downtown on the lakeshore that is quite close to a large number of houses.
It seems as though a large number of the houses are plaged with vibrations caused by the generator. The low frequency humming is driving the home owners insane...as well as their dog. The only break they get is on windless days.
Their homes resale value is now zero due to this, and they are now looking to sue the proper government offices...which will probibly not work as the windmill meets all current government noise specs....but this isnt noise...its mostly subsonic, and sonic vibrations.
Makes you wanna rethink living close to the beauty of wind farms.

i know that wind generator. But are their houses close by ? I thought it was some banquet hall or CNE that was the closest. I figured the houses are like 200+ meters away and they are affected by minute vibrations ?

Have a link to that article ? Sounds like an interesting read.

 

[tcmtech]

Ah... the ever complaining masses. No matter where you go or what has been done, someone someplace will find something to complain about. Put a giant pile of gold in your front yard with a free take some sign on it and wait long enough you will hear someone complain about it being to shiney or to heavy!

 

[duffy]

I can't see them objecting seriously to solar panels on the roof. What would be the basis of the complaint? They don't like the blue color?