3MW windturbines 90MW project. Move out?

[BertZegers]

A wind developer proposed a wind turbine "farm" in our community. 3MW turbines 90MW project.(30 turbines) All is done in secrecy. All we know is that 90 families signed contracts for 18.000 acres. The setback here in Ontario is 550 meters (1800 ft)
Some 20 land owners get the turbines and get $12.000 a year per turbine. The people that signed but don't get a turbine are compensated with $1000 for a 55 acre property, but they sign away all their rights. No setback for them. They cannot complain.
Approval is done by the Provincial Government. Our municipality cannot stop the project. How is this gone affect me and my family? Financially? Health?
We love this quiet place, we work 37 acres and leave 50 acres bush for wildlife. We don't know how close they come.

Who has experience with the Industrial Wind Farms?

Bert.

 

[tcartwri]

Are you upwind or downwind.

 

[westcliffe01]

The best thing I can suggest is to do some research on existing wind farms and then visit them to get an idea what the influence is on the environment. I have seen the huge wind farms go up in Iowa and there has been very little negative press about them. The do have operating limits, so that need a certain winds peed before they can be operated and they will also shut down when the wind exceeds a certain value. The rotors turn at a constant speed that I am aware of, but the pitch of the blades is changed to alter the lift and therefore the torque. Somewhere in the middle of their wind speed range is where the angle of attack will be the highest which is also where the turbulence would be the highest and therefore they would be loudest. The main sound you hear is the interference of the deflected air stream from each blade striking the tower behind the blades (on the down stroke). Usually they are 3 bladed so 3 distinct sounds per rotation.

Given that the sound is cyclic in nature, I suspect that one would adjust to it fairly quickly and of course one has the added variable that the sound will come from different directions at different ranges and therefore intensities depending on which way the wind blows. Usually, the sites chosen have dominant wind directions by season, just interrupted by the passage of weather fronts.

I'm fairly sure that unless you have one really close to you, you would have less disturbance than what one would get from your own (small scale) wind generator that was within 200ft of your home. I am moving to an area where there are no utilities, so I have been considering a wind generator, but with the current low price of solar, it makes more sense to simply invest in more solar capacity. The small wind generators are VERY expensive for the power they produce and also in constant need of maintenance. For now, they do not make financial sense to me.

For a little perspective, back in 95 I worked in the power generation industry, inspecting the high pressure piping, welds and vessels. ONE of the boiler/turbine trains at the power station I worked at was 600MW and there were 6 of them. In the winter, when electricity demand peaked, all of the boilers would be operating as close to the limit of their safety valves as possible and every couple of hours one of them would blow off. Now I have never been to a rocket or shuttle launch to hear what that sounds like, but man, the sound of that superheated steam when the valve would first crack open at peak pressure would about wake the dead... The power station was built directly next to an open cast coal mine and the coal transported into the station via conveyor belt, so it was basically in the middle of no-where. So the general public probably didn't notice any disturbance. But it was totally inescapable to those who either operated or serviced the facility and who lived in the barrack type accommodation provided to contract staff.

 

[dave1949]

A lot depends on the terrain and wind direction. Those 3MW turbines could be ~350'-400' tall from the ground to highest point the rotor sweeps.

I helped write a turbine ordinance for our little town. We settled on 7,000' buffer for DEP (state of Maine) overseen projects and 5,000' for any that are not state permits. Our 5,000' is to any property boundary not under the control of the turbine project. Yours may well be 550m to any inhabited structure. Our ordinance, due to the town's physical size and layout, effectively banned any large turbine project.

Our research found the major complaints are noise, shadow flicker when the sun is behind the rotors, and some people don't like to see them in a natural landscape. At 1800' you may hear a slight thump-whoosh when a rotor blade passes the tower, and a low-level sound like a jet plane flying in the distance. Or, you may hear not much of anything depending on wind and terrain.

I came to the conclusion that "turbine syndrome" is the result of people so upset by something they cannot control, that they make themselves sick. It is all in their heads, but of course that doesn't mean it isn't real for them.

Noise at night when all is still, and noise during the day with background activities going on are going to be perceived differently even though the decibels are the same. Summer time with leaves rustling in the breeze, road traffic, etc. masks the noise, or it seems to blend in, for example.

I think the best thing you could do first is to visit a similar operational wind turbine project on a breezy day and stand and listen at some known distances from the turbines. Depending on their layout, you could hear more than one.

 

[buickanddeere]

Armow Wind project ? I live within sight of the Underwood wind farm.
Flicker from sunlight strobing through the blades and the "flicking" shadows are the worst. Fortunately it is a rare occurrence at this location.
Sound........I would not want to have less than 1-1/4 miles of open fields between myself and a turbine. With a good stand of trees, bush, forest to absorb the sound, no closer than 3/4 mile.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I have a friend of mine who builds and maintains them in the US. He is liberal, seems to have his head on reasonably straight. Would be happy to introduce you. You will need to PM me to get his info.

Carl

 

[Markcuda]

We have all been told that power generating windmills are the best thing since sliced bread.
What is the harm?

 

[lockhaven]

We have all been told that power generating windmills are the best thing since sliced bread.
What is the harm?

first off dead birds including eagles enough that they only bother to count the eagles
second they use rare earth magnets so any environmental gain is lost because of the mining of rare earth, just Google a rare earth mine and see for yourself
third and I admit I do not know the science behind it but the existing power grid cannot handle the way the electric is provided and will need a major upgrade
forth and most simple no wind the power stops

 

[dave1949]

I ran across this Ontario regulation while researching setbacks for our local ordinance. Google "Section 47.3 Ontario Environmental Protection Act"

It is a pdf document covering wind turbines and setbacks are listed in a table. I don't know if this is your current regulation. A turbine project of more than five turbines with a 107-decibel level is required to have setbacks of 950-1,500 meters.

You should at least be able to ensure the Province regs are being followed in your municipality.

This is an excerpt from an article referring to the above Section 47.3 regulation:

I applaud the announcement by Health Canada to conduct a study of health effects of industrial wind turbines (CJ, July 11). On July 18, 2011, after testimony from experts around the world, the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal stated: "This case has successfully shown that the debate should not be simplified to one about whether wind turbines can cause harm to humans. The evidence presented to the Tribunal demonstrates that they can, if facilities are placed too close to residents. The debate has now evolved to one of degree."
The Ontario Ministry of Environment's website states, "Our setback of 550 m. for wind projects is the most stringent in North America and is based on the most up-to-date science."

Section 47.3 (1) Ontario Environmental Protection Act states a very different set of setback distances. The act states 550 metres is considered the absolute minimum setback for a very small wind farm - five turbines or less and a noise output level of 102 decibels. This section also shows when a 107-decibel level is reached or the number of turbines in a wind farm increases, the setbacks must be increased quite dramatically to 950-1,500 metres to...

 

[buickanddeere]

We have all been told that power generating windmills are the best thing since sliced bread.
What is the harm?

Depends if you listen to liberal green weenies or engineers and accountants .
The entire capacity of wind turbines has to be backed up with combustion generation to follow the varying output. Two generating systems instead of one for the same amount of power.
Wind turbine generators are not reliable sources of power. Wind turbine power drops off during peak hear on summer days when power is needed.
The induction generators inside the wind turbines place harmonics on the grid which causes false trips of P&C equipment.