Green Backlash: The Wind Turbine Controversy

In Rumford, Maine, members of the medical staff of Rumford Hospital issued a press release in February asking for a moratorium on wind projects. The announcement noted that “there is a literature emerging worldwide expressing a multitude of side effects affecting those who live, work or attend school in the vicinity of wind farms. The health hazards include problems arising not only from audible noise frequencies but also from inaudible low frequency noise waves.” Lisa Linowes, executive director of Industrial Wind Action Group, advises communities and officials about industrial wind complexes. © Lisa Linowes Richard James, principal consultant for E-Coustic Solutions of Okemos, Mich., has more than 35 years of experience addressing community noise for new and existing industrial and commercial facilities and has presented his findings across the country as local governments review industrial wind proposals. James says there are three main problems for homeowners that neighbor turbines. Two are a combination of audible sounds—one is similar to the sound of an airport in the distance and the second is a woosh-woosh sound of moving blades similar to a helicopter flying overhead—both of which are uncharacteristic of a rural environment, particularly at night, he says. The third problem is low-frequency acoustic energy, best described as a vibration felt inside homes. What confuses the situation is that sounds can affect each person differently and low-frequency vibration can depend on a home’s construction and the shape of its rooms. Those most at risk, he says, are people with pre-existing medical conditions, those 60 and older when sleep problems are more common and children under six. He suggests that setbacks from homes should be at least a mile with noise limits of 35 decibels, maximum, using the A-weighting filter (i.e. dBA) to measure the audible part of the noise and 55 decibels, maximum, using the C-Weighting filter (i.e. dBC) to measure the low-frequency non-audible sound outside a home. “Thirty-five decibels at night will be audible in the country unless the home is within a few miles from a major highway,” James says. “That’s why 1,000 feet from a home, where some turbines have been placed, can seem so outrageously loud.” Property Values For Barbara Pitcairn, Owner/Designated Broker for Maine’s Presque Isle and Fort Kent offices of Aroostook Real Estate, the devaluation of property is a big issue. "Why would anyone want to live close to that level of noise and be consistently affected by the shadow flicker these giant turbines generate?" She says a majority of her sales are to people relocating from southern New England and many desire building or purchasing their retirement home away from the traffic and noise. “Most want privacy and seclusion so they can enjoy northern Maine's way of life,” she says. Pitcairn says it is her broker's professional opinion that several of the homes located near wind turbines on Mars Hill Mountain suffer from diminished value.

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