Noise & Light & Shadow Flicker

Developers claim modern wind turbines make little noise beyond the sound of “wind rustling through the leaves,” pointing to their own studies showing low decibel levels and the experience of observers who've been taken directly under a wind turbine. (This recent article shows how the developers in Vinalhaven skewed the ambient noise test results in their favor). However, the reality for people living near an industrial scale wind plant does not substantiate this claim. While there are few residences in the immediate area of Bowers Mountain, we can't rule out the impact noise will have when the turbines are 400' to 500' above the ridgeline. It is a known fact that soundwaves travel very efficiently down a mountainside and over water. Residents on or near Duck, Mill Privilege and Pleasant Lakes should be concerned as they will be within two to three miles of the turbines.

The sound of the wind turbine is described by the residents with words like rhythmic "thumping”, "continual droning", a "screeching" or "banging." It can be so irritating and disconcerting that it can cause people to seek medical attention. But it's not just the audible noise that can cause health problems. Low frequency inaudible noise can have subliminal effects on the human body. Symptoms typically include headaches, migraines, nausea, dizziness, palpitations and tinnitus to sleep disturbance, stress, anxiety and depression. The problem is so acute in Europe that an International Wind Turbine Noise conference was convened in Berlin. Physician, Dr. Nina Pierpont, has called for systematic medical study of what she has termed Wind Turbine Noise Syndrome. She has recently published the results of her study in book form.

A recent study published by a Dutch researcher, G.P. van den Berg of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands demonstrates that loud aerodynamic sounds are generated when the moving propeller blade passes the turbine's tower mast, creating sound pressure fluctuations. Such fluctuations may not be great from an individual turbine, but when several turbines operate together, the pulses amplify each other, greatly magnifying the sound. Van den Berg also notes a “distinct audible difference between the night and daytime sound at some distance (more than one mile) from the turbines”.

The Town of Wellfleet, Massachusetts is considering installing a single wind turbine for the Town's benefit. The turbine is to be built in the Cape Cod National Seashore. On March 17, 2010 Town Adminstrator Paul Sieloff wrote a letter to Dr. Nina Pierpont, MD, asking her opinion about this single-turbine project. Dr. Pierpoint is the author of Wind Turbine Syndrome: A Report on a Natural Experiment. Click here to read his letter. Click here to read her reply.

For a peer-reviewed study of the effects of wind turbine infrasound conducted by Washington University, click here.

In addition to the irritation and health effects of noise, there will be light pollution. Each of the turbine towers has a nacelle mounted on top of it. The nacelle is the housing which contains the bearings, shaft, gearbox and generator. The blades attach to the shaft on the nacelle. Because of their height, each wind turbine is required by the FAA to have at least one strobe light mounted on top of the nacelle. These strobelights range in size from 15" to 28" in diameter.

At first, flashing strobe lights on top of huge towers on top of a mountain doesn't sound like much of a nuisance. But because these turbines will be on the ridgelines, their lights will sometimes be shrouded in a thin fog. The fog diffuses the light causing a good portion of the night sky to appear to be flashing; a very disturbing display that can't be ignored. Click here to view a video clip of what the strobes look like at night at the Mars Hill facility. As you can see the lights flash in a regular pattern, the blades are illuminated and the blades create additional flicker as they pass in front of the strobes.

One of the first thing visitors to our area notice is how dark the night is and how brilliant the stars are. On any clear night we can enjoy the Milky Way, the constellations and even shooting stars. Occasionally we are blessed with an indescribable showing of the Northern Lights. There are not many places that can boast such an awesome display of nature. All of this will be jeopardized by the flashing strobe lights. The ridgeline will resemble an airport runway.

When the rotating blades of a turbine cast a shadow on you or your house, that is refered to as 'shadow flicker'. This effect is very localized and the zone of impact moves with the seasons and time of day. In the summer months residents of Brown Road may experience shadow flicker in the morning and residents in the Pleasant Lake area may experience it as the sun sets behind the mountain. Click here to see a video clip of shadow flicker.

If you'd like to learnn more about what it's like living near an industrial scale wind facility, go to www.youtube.com and search for 'wind turbine health', 'wind turbine noise' or 'wind turbine shadow'. Here are two 3-part videos that are especially well made and the topography is similar to the Bowers Mountain area:

Meyersdale, Pennsylvania
      Life Under a Wind Plant:      Part One    Part Two    Part Three

Mars Hill, Maine
      Welcome to Mars Hill:          Part One    Part Two    Part Three