DO WIND TURBINES IMPACT HUMAN HEALTH?
Although research to develop sound mitigation techniques is ongoing, as of 2013, global peer-reviewed scientific data and independent studies consistently concluded that sound from wind plants has no direct impact on physical human health. The sound level from wind turbines at common residential setbacks is not sufficient to cause hearing impairment or other direct adverse health effects. Low frequency sound and infrasound from upwind wind turbines are also well below the pressure sound levels and which known health effects occur.
Source: Office of Energy & Renewable Energy
DO WIND TURBINES KILL BIRDS AND BATS?
All energy supply options can have adverse environmental impacts. Birds and bats are occasionally killed in collisions with wind turbines. However, bird kills are limited to less than 0.02% of the total populations of songbird species, and orders of magnitude less than other causes. (Estimated annual bird mortality rates for collisions with wind turbines are one order of magnitude less than from collisions with communications and other towers, three orders of magnitude less than from collisions with power lines, and three to four orders of magnitude less than from collisions with buildings.) The largest sources of all declining wildlife populations over the past 100 years include declining habitats resulting from the expansion of farming, cities, and towns, and the development of related infrastructure such as roads and power lines.
Source: Office of Energy & Renewable Energy
WHAT IMPACT WILL A WIND FARM HAVE ON MY PROPERTY VALUE?
Multiple studies have found wind farms have no significant long-term impacts on property values. While some potential property purchasers may be hesitant to purchase land near wind turbines, academic studies show that the positive impacts of a wind energy project either balance or outweigh any negative impacts. A study of more than 50,000 home sales among 27 counties in nine states found no statistical evidence that home prices near wind farms were affected by the wind farm.
Source: Wind Farm Proximity and Property Values: A Pooled Hedonistic Regression Analysis of Property Values in Central Illinois. Jennifer L. Hinman, (May 2010).
ARE WIND TURBINES NOISY?
Wind developers take great care to ensure that projects are sited in a way that makes sound at neighboring residences lower than would typically be noticeable. This is done through advanced and very accurate computer modeling technology, a long history of operational experience, and good common sense. The care taken to properly site turbines is evidenced in the millions of people that live near wind farms without issue. In fact, as of 2015, more than 1.3 million homes are within five miles of a utility-scale wind turbine, according to the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL). According to the same LBNL study, 92 percent of people living within five miles of a wind farm report positive or neutral experiences.
Source: AWEA – Sound and Shadow
WHAT ARE THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS FROM WIND FARM CONSTRUCTION?
U.S. wind power drives unmatched economic development into rural America. Because of extra income from wind projects, family farmers and ranchers have a new source of stable income, small-town schools districts can offer their Students top-notch educations and local taxes stay low. “Wind energy, the fastest-growing source of electricity in the U.S., is transforming low-income rural areas in ways not seen since the federal government gave land to homesteaders 150 years ago,” Nebraska’s Omaha World-Herald reported.
Source: AWEA – Economic Development