Liberal Coalition in the grip of front groups opposing wind energy
Windfarm industry fears consequences of Coalition turbine noise policy, Guardian UK Lenore Taylor, political editor, 12 June 13, Firms say they face crippling costs if forced to monitor in ‘real-time’ noise some blame for health problems The Coalition will impose new noise monitoring rules on windfarms that the multibillion dollar industry says will inflict crippling costs, provide no useful information and represent another victory for an anti-noise campaign by concerned citizens backed in part by the climate sceptic lobby.
The yet-to-be-released resources policy is set to require all windfarms to provide “real-time” noise monitoring, with the findings immediately publicly available, so nearby residents concerned about the alleged health impact of windfarms can compare the results with strict state government noise controls. The Coalition resources spokesman, Ian Macfarlane, will also try to introduce the measures before the election with a private members bill.
People living close to windfarms have reported symptoms including headaches, sleeplessness and nausea. Several residents experiencing the symptoms have given evidence at inquiries, but a recent study by Prof Simon Chapman of Sydney University found incidence of the sickness was far more prevalent in communities where anti-windfarm lobbyists had been active and suggested it might be a psychological phenomenon caused by the belief that turbines make people sick. “As anti-windfarm interest groups began to stress health problems in their advocacy, and to target new windfarm developments, complaints grew,” said Chapman.
The wind power industry claims the new requirement would impose “very significant costs” and the information would not differentiate windfarm noise from background noise such as traffic – unlike existing monitoring which compares average noise over a period with average noise before the windfarm began operation.
Combined with new tougher state regulations in Victoria and possibly also New South Wales and Queensland – also as a result of the windfarm noise campaign – the wind power industry says it could stymie billions of dollars in new investment…….
Russell Marsh, policy director of the Clean Energy Council, said complying with the rules would be expensive and “it would be very hard to isolate continuous real-time windfarm noise from other noise”.
According to a spokesman for Pacific Hydro, which operates six Australian windfarms, “it would seem that the only way to achieve the stated objective of the legislation would be for operators of windfarms to be required to constantly turn the windfarm on and off to ascertain if indeed the windfarm or other sources are creating the noise. This would not only create a significant operational issue but financially cripple the windfarm.”
The chairman of the Hepburn community windfarm near Daylesford in central Victoria, Simon Holmes a Court, said: “Measuring windfarm noise is complex. The noise level at a moment in time is meaningless. If you register a high noise level, chances are it’s not a wind turbine, but a passing truck, or a pump or chainsaw. Sometimes it’s thunder or even crickets, but most often it’s the wind. Wind is noisy. Turbines, generally, are not.”………………..
The groups are particularly worried about the possible health impacts of inaudible low frequency infrasound, citing residents near windfarms who report symptoms of “wind turbine syndrome”.
Chapman’s study found that 63% of Australia’s 49 windfarms had never been the subject of any health complaint from nearby residents. It found 68% of the 120 complaints that had been made came from residents living near windfarms heavily targeted by the anti-windfarm lobby, and that ”the advent of anti-windfarm groups beginning to foment concerns about health (from around 2009) was also strongly correlated with actual complaints being made”. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/11/windfarm-industry-coalition-turbine-noise
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