Wind Turbine Syndrome: The Impact of Wind Farms on Suicide 

Abstract – Current technology uses wind turbines’ blade aerodynamics to convert wind energy to electricity. This process generates significant low-frequency noise that reportedly results in residents’ sleep disruptions, among other annoyance symptoms. However, the existence and the importance of wind farms’ health effects on a population scale remain unknown. Exploiting over 800 utility-scale wind turbine installation events in the United States from 2001 to 2013, I show robust evidence that wind farms lead to significant increases in suicide. I explore three indirect tests of the role of low-frequency noise exposure. First, the suicide effect concentrates among individuals who are vulnerable to noise-induced illnesses, such as the elderly. Second, the suicide effect is driven by days when wind blows in directions that would raise residents’ exposure to low-frequency noise radiation. Third, data from a large-scale health survey suggest increased sleep insufficiency as new turbines began operating. These findings point to the value of noise abatement in future wind technology innovations.

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Download reader’s report by Nina Pierpont, MD, PhD

Update, 2020:

Current technology uses wind turbines’ blade aerodynamics to convert wind energy to electricity. This
process generates significant low-frequency noise that reportedly produces annoyance symptoms and
disrupts the sleep of nearby residents. However, the existence and the importance of wind farms’ health
effects on a population scale remain unknown. Exploiting over 800 utility-scale wind farm installation
events in the United States from 2001 to 2013, I show robust evidence that wind farms lead to significant
increases in suicide. I explore indirect tests of the role of low-frequency noise exposure that support the
connection. The suicide effect rises with the number of days that people experience greater exposure to
low-frequency noise radiation as the result of the direction of prevailing winds. Data from a large-scale
health survey suggest that sleep insufficiency increased as new wind farms began operating. The suicide
increase is most pronounced among two age groups: those in the 15-19 age group and those over than age
80. I estimate that the suicide cost of wind farms is not trivial in magnitude compared to the environmental
and health benefits of wind energy.

Download original document: “Wind Turbine Syndrome: The Impact of Wind Farms on Suicide”