Resources
At a Glance
The wind projects proposed for Newfoundland Labrador are extensive, with massive consequences. Over 515 thousand hectares are on the table to be considered for wind energy development.
On the west coast, World Energy GH2 are pursuing turbines standing 656ft (200m) tall. The two wind farms discussed in the EIS could result in 328 turbines. If World Energy GH2 receives approval for all 4 proposed projects that could be 656 turbines, and at least 1968 blades to dispose of before the end life of the project.
Unfortunately, recycling or repurposing turbine blades isn’t a common practice and the majority end up piled in landfills. The impacts on both the natural and human environment can be monumental and repercussions endless.
In the rush to move forward with green energy the Government is allowing the wind energy developers to dictate mega project details. In turn, when pressed by the public for answers, big wind is choosing deflection tactics rather than deal with concerns at hand.
In the pursuit of responsible industry, Protect NL feels that Wind Energy Legislation is necessary before moving forward. Wind energy legislation can regulate aspects of wind projects such as their location and may also address issues of community impact such as: land use, noise standards, and safety. Standards specified in legislation provide clarity to wind developers and the public.
“Industry is important to our province, but it must be a responsible industry. We must learn from past mistakes. We don’t need to rush. Our resources will only increase in value. I have involved myself in public policy issues involving energy such as our offshore and now wind energy development because of my grandchildren. If we work together, and focus on responsible industry, it is possible to have a Newfoundland and Labrador that enables our grandchildren to stay here, offers them opportunity, a good standard of living and a future in a province that is economically and financially viable. I want this for every person across this province.”
Dennis O’Keefe
During the past few years there have been case reports of adverse effects. A 2006 Académie Nationale de Médecine working group report notes that noise is the most frequent complaint. The noise is described as piercing, preoccupying, and continually surprising, as it is irregular in intensity. The noise includes grating and incongruous sounds that distract the attention or disturb rest. The spontaneous recurrence of these noises disturbs the sleep, suddenly awakening the subject when the wind rises and preventing the subject from going back to sleep.
Wind turbines have been blamed for other problems experienced by people living nearby. These are less precise and less well described, and consist of subjective (headaches, fatigue, temporary feelings of dizziness, nausea) and sometimes objective (vomiting, insomnia, palpitations) manifestations.[8]
Industrial wind turbines can harm human health if sited too close to residents. Harm can be avoided if IWTs are situated at an appropriate distance from humans.
STUDY LINK www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
How Far Away is Safe?
Wind Turbine Syndrome Symptoms include headache, tinnitus, ear pressure, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, visual blurring, tachycardia, irritability, problems with concentration and memory, and panic episodes associated with sensations of internal pulsation or quivering when awake or asleep. These were severe enough to drive people from their homes.
STUDY LINK www.windconcerns.com
Down Wind
Down Wind is the explosive documentary that examines Ontario’s controversial rush into industrial wind farm development. Produced by Surge Media, Down Wind exposes how this Canadian provinces’ green energy dream turned into a nightmare for rural residents forced to live among the towering 50 storey turbines. We hear searing, personal stories of people experiencing mysterious health problems, insomnia, depression, even thoughts of suicide; their lives turned upside down by the constant noise and vibrations given off by the massive wind turbines. The documentary also reveals the staggering economic costs of these wind farms to taxpayers with huge subsidies going to big wind corporations. And how inside connections have made some government cronies wealthy, while rural communities suffer.
Raptors as a group appear more vulnerable to collisions. Population-level impacts on migratory tree bats are a concern, and better information on population sizes is needed to evaluate potential impacts to these species. Although recorded fatalities of cave-dwelling bat species are typically low at most wind energy facilities, additional mortality from collisions is a concern given major declines in these species due to white-nose syndrome (WNS).
Protect NL predicts that Snowmobile recreation and hiking near wind farms will be prohibited due to ice throw.
Most wind energy investments take place in the northern part of Europe and the Arctic region, where the cold climate affects the operability of wind turbines and poses serious challenges to the wind energy industry through ice accretion on wind turbine blades. The accreted ice is not uniformly distributed over the blades of a wind turbine; it is observed that more ice is accreted over the tip of the blades compared to the root sections [15], [16]. Annual power loss due to ice accretion ranges between 20% and 50% [17]. Ice fragments shed from wind turbines may cause injury to people and damage to surroundings including neighboring turbines.
STUDY LINK www.e3s-conferences.org
There was a lot of support for wind energy, but no one was willing to pay more to see wind turbines from the beach by their vacation rental property. And if turbines are built close to shore, most people said they would choose a different vacation location where they wouldn’t have to see turbines.
STUDY LINK www.cabidigitallibrary.org
Protect NL predicts onshore wind turbines will affect marine life due to infrasound and ground vibrations.
Large sharks are attracted to an infrasound source and will even attack it, whereas the fairly small teleosts investigated are scared by infrasound. The behavioural repertoire may be vastly different in various species. One might easily imagine that the response, i.e. attraction or avoidance, depends on whether the species is a natural predator or prey. It is also possible that small specimens may show a fright reaction, whereas in larger adult fish this may change to attraction. The possible importance of infrasound to fishing operations is as yet uncertain.
Hearing is one of the main ways marine life gathers information and communicates underwater, where sound travels rapidly and over long distances. Noise may lead to physiological effects, ranging from non auditory injury to hearing loss, or to more subtle effects, such as auditory masking (i.e., when noise interferes with the ability to communicate and hear other important sounds) or behavioural disturbance, which is more difficult to predict and quantify. Marine life, including marine mammals, sea turtles, and fish, differ in their ability to hear across sound frequencies and thus will respond differently to noises from different OSW farm activities. For example, baleen whales (e.g., blue, fin, and humpback whales) vocalize and are believed to hear well at low frequencies, whereas dolphins and porpoises vocalize and hear well at higher frequencies (Figure 3). Sound is also important to fish as they produce various sounds that are used to attract mates, ward off predators, and gather together. Marine invertebrates, like shrimp and lobsters, and other benthic organisms also rely on sound for mating and protection. Sea turtles can hear low- to mid-frequency sounds underwater, but less is known about their hearing compared to other species.
When ECO activists want to destroy, cripple and displace the fishing industry with offshore wind turbines, it will by no means make it feasible. Other countries are backing away from offshore wind turbines as studies have now shown that the damage to the environment is too great.
Overall, the estimated marginal willingness to pay for living less than 1 km from a wind power plant is around -15% of the house price.
The CBC has documented scores of families who’ve discovered their property values are not only going downward, but also some who are unable to sell and have even abandoned their homes because of concerns that nearby turbines are affecting their health
