Resource Library Category: Impacts
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Also see NWW "costs/benefits" FAQ
Documents presented here are not the product of nor are they necessarily endorsed by National Wind Watch. This resource library is provided to assist anyone wishing to research the issue of industrial wind power and the impacts of its development. The information should be evaluated by each reader to come to their own conclusions about the many areas of debate.
Environmental Noise Guidelines: Wind Farms
Author: Southern Australia Environment Protection Authority
Wind farms need specific guidelines because wind turbines have unique noise generating characteristics and the environments surrounding wind farm sites usually have low ambient noise. …
2 NOISE CRITERIA
The general approach in setting noise criteria for new developments is to require compliance with a base noise level.
This base noise level is typically 5 dB(A) lower than the level considered to reflect the amenity of the receiving environment. Designing new developments at a lower level accounts for the cumulative effect of noise from . . .
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Darbyshire Dales Ramblers statement on wind turbines
Author: Darbyshire Dales Group, Ramblers' Association
Since wind turbines –
are a means of generating electricity that is intermittent, expensive and can have no relevance to world climate change;
cause nuisance and distress for people living nearby, and have possibly harmful effects on health;
are imposed by the government under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, frequently in the face of strong local opposition, thereby overruling the decisions of democratically elected local authorities;
harm wildlife habitats;
damage tourism and hence the local economy;
entail the . . .
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Balancing Fluctuating Wind Energy with Fossil-Fuel Power Stations
Author: Leonhard, W.; and Müller, K.
‘The simulation results show that even at this low penetration of wind energy, the infeed causes a hidden increase of the specific fuel consumption in remote fossil generating stations; in other words, they are now producing less electrical energy but with a higher fuel consumption and CO2- emissions per kWh. Substantial power reserves are necessary to guard against uncertainties of the wind power forecast and possible protective shut-downs of windfarms, which further strengthens the tendency towards a less efficient part-load-operation . . .
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Brownsville Diary, March 3 to July 7, 2008
Author: Brownsville, Wis., family
Entries of a noise log kept by a Brownsville family who live 3/4 mile east of South Byron in Fond Du Lac County, Wisconsin. The new wind turbines had just gone on line there.
Download “Brownsville noise log, March 3 to July 7, 2008″
Download “Turbine Layout Map, Brownsville, Wis.”
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Impact of a large-scale offshore wind farm on meteorology
Author: Rooijmans, Pim
Abstract
In this thesis the meteorological effects of a large-scale (9000 km2) offshore wind farm in the North Sea were simulated using the MM5 mesoscale model. The wind farm was simulated by introducing a higher roughness length (0.5 m) in the area of the wind farm. The meteorological effects were examined by comparing model runs with and without wind farm. Turbulent kinetic energy, cloud formation, precipitation and wind speed reduction were studied. Two case studies with westerly flows were performed. The . . .
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Can large wind farms affect local meteorology?
Author: Roy, S. Baidya; Pacala, S.W.; and Walko, R.L.
Abstract: The RAMS model was used to explore the possible impacts of a large wind farm in the Great Plains region on the local meteorology over synoptic timescales under typical summertime conditions. A wind turbine was approximated as a sink of energy and source of turbulence. The wind farm was created by assuming an array of such turbines. Results show that the wind farm significantly slows down the wind at the turbine hub-height level. Additionally, turbulence generated by rotors create . . .
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Evidence to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee inquiry into ‘The Economics of Renewable Energy’
Author: Bratby, Philip
10 My evidence is mainly concerned with wind power stations for generating electricity. This is because these form the major component of all major country’s future renewable energy policies. …
11 The most important consideration for the future electricity supply has to be security of that supply. …
12 Security of supply implies firm generation capacity with a margin above the peak (winter) demand. The firm generation is supplied by baseload power stations (such as nuclear) and despatchable (controlled by the grid) power (such as coal, gas . . .
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Amplitude Modulation of Wind Turbine Noise
Author: Bowdler, Dick
A Review of the Evidence
“Conclusions: It seems probable that there are two distinct mechanisms in operation to create amplitude modulation. The first is swish which is a function of the observer’s position relative to one turbine. The second is thump which is due to turbine blades passing through uneven air velocities as they rotate. In the second case the uneven air may be due to interaction of other turbines, excessive wind shear or topography. These two . . .
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Micrositing
Author: Nordex
Choosing the type of wind turbine (WTG) and its exact position are very important parts of the planning work of a wind park. This process is called micrositing.
During micrositing many aspects have to be regarded:
wind conditions (statistic data concerning wind speed and wind direction)
building requirements (e.g. distances to residences)
ownership structure of the area
accessibility (existing roads)
influence of the WTG on the environment (e.g. shadow flickering, noise emission)
distances between the individual turbines in a . . .
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Evaluation de l'impact du parc éolien de Bouin (Vendée) sur l'avifaune et les chauves-souris
Author: Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux
“Evaluation of the impact of the Bouin (Vendée) wind energy facility on birds and bats”, by the Bird Protection League (France) Perrine Dulac, editor
Pour un sommaire français, voir à Fédération Environnement Durable (cliquer).
English summary by Mark Duchamp:
A five-year monitoring report of 8 wind turbines near the coast in Vendée, France, by the French ornithological society LPO (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux), discloses the following:
bird mortality: 5.7 to 33.8 per turbine/year, depending upon the year and the estimation method. It . . .
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