It was such a beautiful day today, I decided to take a drive out to the three wind turbines near Westchester on Higgins Mountain.
You can see them from quite a distance. Indeed, you can see them from South Pugwash some 30km away.
You can see them from quite a distance. Indeed, you can see them from South Pugwash some 30km away.
After a rather muddy last few kilometres I got to the first turbine which was just put into operation a week or so ago. The tower (nacelle) is 69m and the rotors are each 31m. At a total of 100m in height, it is HUGE.
When I first got out of the car, I wondered what the noise was. I was looking around for the large plane that was coming in for a landing, but it was the turbine. I was expecting some noise, but this was much worse than I had expected. These turbines are supposed to be the "quiet kind", with a direct drive. Then there is the swoosh, swoosh, swooch of the rotors. Very noisy. Today there was hardly any wind, but if it did change direction or speed at all, there was an alarming change in the noise coming from the turbine.
I took a couple of photos and short video on my little digital camera. I would have taken more but this turbine was making me feel nervous. I found its size and noise very oppressive, intimidating and rather scary and felt too uncomfortable to stay long. I might have driven a couple more kilometres to the next two turbines, but the road is very muddy and badly rutted.
I retreated down the mountain back towards Westchester and stopped to talk to the nearest neighbour who was working in his back yard. As the crow flies they are about 600m from the closest turbine and are finding themselves really bothered by the noise of this newest turbine. The degree of noise depends on wind direction. While we were talking, the turbine noise came and went. Very annoying. The owner grew up in the area and when he bought his current property he thought he was going to get peace and quiet - along with a stupendous view of northern Cumberland County, the Strait and, on a clear day, Confederation Bridge. Beautiful spot - if you're looking north!
The next neighbours are about 2km away. The only other land use in the area is forestry and blueberries. I have heard that Vector Wind Energy would like to add 30 more turbines in that area.
The proposed project for the Gulf Shore call for 120m turbines which would be gear driven. These are much noisier and difficult to maintain than the direct drive variety found on Higgins Mountain. On Higgins Mountain and Windham Hill (near Springhill), the roads twist and turn and change elevation as you drive through the woods, somewhat obscuring the turbines from view and noise. The Gulf Shore is also relatively open and flat - there's nowhere for them to hide out here! It is also much more densely populated.
If the County Councillors are going to decide for the rest of us where these turbines go, the least they can do is to take a field trip out to Higgins Mountain to see and hear them for themselves. No amount of description is enough to comprehend what they are like. You have to see it for yourself.
15 comments:
Hello Lisa Betts,
Don't you think that green energy is better then anything else we burn today for example coal. I think the noises you hear are all in your head unless you have dog hearing because these units don't seem to make any noise at all. Lets just move on with our lives, I think your just too concerned on these issues and you have nothing better to do. Think about it.
Why can't they put windmills out in the northumberland strait?
They could just plaster the strait with them and I couldn't imagine who would complain about that.
I urge landowners and residents of Gulf Shore, Wallace Bay, Miller Road and MacFarlane Road to let County Council know we don't want windmills in our backyards. This is an area of protected wetlands, highly coveted retirement community, currently enjoyed by many for its peaceful beauty. Let's not be complacent. Say no to windfarms in populated areas!
these big" fans" generate accoustic noise as well as electromagnetic fields from the creation of a flow of electricity via motion of conductors thru a magnetic field or vice-versa ,as do all electrical generators.
the size of these man made machines creates unnatural very low frequency noises/hums/rumbles/etc.these travel at the speed of sound which is dependent on the weather. low frequency sounds bend around obstacles and are not easily absorbed as higher frequencies are.you can not hear them thru your ears until they reach a certain threshold which depends on a humans age/health etc.the ear as a sensor is frequency selective and amplitude sensitive.but your body can resonate via its internal organs/structures etc. much the same way the walls of an auditorium can resonate with the sounds of a loud rock band's bass drum/bass guitar.you may not be concsiously" hearing" the sounds but you will be feeling it(whether you consciously know it or not).it has been seen with automobile road noise studies that numerous unhealthy body reactions can occur from these unnatural repetitive low frequency vibrations rattling your fluid innards/brain cavity/etc.sensations such as nausea/drowsiness/difficulty breathing/loss of concsiousness etc. being reported.
the frequency of the radiated electromagnetic waves is dependent on the design of the unit.they also generate harmonics of these.
thru a process of bioentrainement they can interfere with your natural brainwave patterns which are known to be from 3 to 30 cycles a second (and higher)on a regular basis.these are measured via an EEG at levels around 20 microvolts( .000020 of a volt.)we are all being entrained by the power line hum we've created at 60 cycles a second.
have a look here to see how intense this is in comparison to what was here for the 4.5 billion years before our" invention" of electricity for human consumption and what life was designed for http://www.vlf.it/Schumann/schumann.htm
unnatural electromagnetic impulses/waves have shown an effect of altering your natural body functions beyond your control. basically scrambling your head -body communication much the same way driving under a power line could scramble the music on your car radio(static)in the days of old!
this site lists some of the known effects of low frequency sound and light and electromagnetic vibrations. http://lunarsight.com/freq.htm
it has been demonstated that hi frequencies in the range of microwaves which we now broadcast increasingly with the advent of cellphones and satelites and digital electronics can modify cell reproduction and their genetic structures in the process at levels we are now all immersed in.
this site will give you an idea of this http://www.rfsafe.com/DNA_EFFECTS.htm
all of living matter is composed of colonies of cells which evolved under the natural electromagnetic influences of the sun and heavans.we are in the process of self destruction of our genetic heritage and creating a scrambled substandard form of life from what was the norm 100 years ago from our artificial creation/use of electricity and its creations!
the longterm health risks of windmills running constantly is unknown and those under its influence are the subjects of the experiment to find out such.
the creatures of the forest will take the greatest hit .their sensitivity to low frequency vibrations of sound or electromagnetic origin is not known.birds can possibly lose concsiousness flying thru such(the concept of a bird smashing into a large propellor yet being able to effortlessly fly thru trees/brush/branchs etc in the wind suggests this may be a problem they will face)
windmills may have benifits to the electrical needs of the future and the planets air quality but they are not without problems .
oh my goodness, if someone doesn't wine about one thing then its another. Lets just forget about green and go black, no just wait, someone would cry about that, lets just go nothing and burn wood with no energy being used at all, no thats not good either because then tree huggers would wine about that too. Hmmm, lets just think how to solve a problem insted of finding ways why we couldn't get it done, makes you think. Ah forget it, someone would complain about that too, I'm just going to go about my business and watch the world complain because noone is right no matter what the solution is. ;)
Didn't see anything there about fish getting all messed up by windmills so I guess we should put them in the strait and be done with it all.
That's not nice posting a persons phone number on the net... This blog spot is to post opinions not her home phone.
I believe everyone should have a say. But please do your proper homework before getting on your soapbox. Some of the articles you reference contradict your point of view. For example, the article about wildlife says that more birds are killed by domestic cats than wind turbines. And the article about the fire says it was started by electricians working in the machine - not by a malfunction. Your two property-value articles are vague at best.
I agree with you that setbacks should be looked at more closely but when you make these unsubstantiated claims....you lose credibility :-/
Why can't they just put the windmills in the Northumberland Strait and then there is no worry about the impact on residents...
For Pete's sake, what do you mean you were "scared" of the turbines? What are they the Loch Ness monster?
Just what kind of a person are we dealing with here that is trying to hold back something that can only imporve the emmissions in our environment?
NSPC is the biggest polluter in the province. The only difference is-you can't see it from where you live. If you want to look at something scary take a trip to Pictou county or Dartmouth and see their fly ash in the air.
Nonsense!
One day George announced to his neighbor that he was going to take his wheelbarrow and go across Niagara Falls on a wire.The neighbor asked"When are you going to do this,George?"
He replied,"When I'm ready."
He set out to practice in his back yard.He set a wire a couple of feet off the ground and approximately the lenght that he would have to go.For weeks the neighbor would watch him go back and forth,back and forth across this wire with his big wheelbarrow.
The weeks turned into months.George had perfected it.Then he announced that he was ready for the big test.The neighbor went to the Falls to watch him.George was ready to go across when he saw his neighbor standing right there in the front row.
George asked him,"Do you believe that I can do this?"His neighbor said"Yes".
"Are you certain?"
"Yes George,I've seen you practice day after day,rain or shine,so there is no doubt that you can do it".George looked at him straight in the eye,"Do you really beleive that I can do it?"
"Yes George,I really beleive".Then said George"Get in the wheelbarrel".
all of you who say its ok to have industrial wind turbines within 1.5 km of homes,put your children in the wheelbarrel
The continued misrepresentation of wind energy is contemptuous. These reams of misinformation, misquotes and outright lies are tiring at best. They serve to escalate anger and fear about a change necessary for our survival. Without alternative energy the world as we know it will be lost. There will be no views worth saving because the trees will be dead from acid rain, the lake will continue to die as they have in the Adirondacks(NYS). Our children will be born with neurologic impairments thanks to mercury toxicity. We all will have increasing issues with respiratory ailments because of the burning of fossil fuels.
Wind energy does not produce seizures ask the American Epilepsy Association. Electromagnetic forces have never been shown to result in cancers despite extensive research. The noise produced by turbines is minimal and for those living around them in NYS it is not obtrusive.
Wind energy is part of our future if we intend to continue as a species. To those of you playing 'Don Quiote' I say, "Your view is not as important as our children's future"....get a grip!
What is with you people?? I am for the wind turbines 100%!! I have a cottage on Folly Lake and do a lot of dirt biking and fourwheeling in that area. There is no place for development in the area no lakes, streams just a railroad track!! Everyone says they want green energy just not where they can see them. Tell me this, name on place in Nova Scotia that produces this much wind and where no one is going to complain?? The closes house in that area is 1 km and you can hardly hear them for 250 metres away.
How much do they cost?
I'm aware that I'm late commenting on this, but for future people to see; I live about 6km from this turbine. I can look out my window and see if right now. I have been up there multiple times, and your "noise" claim is either false, or you have extraordinary hearing. If you have your reasons for not wanting them, then so be it. But stretching the truth is not the way to do so, nor is it fair to those who are not getting the fact, but moreso opinion.
I can not speak for the noise of other turbines, but I can assure you, this one is not noisy in the slightest. You have to be up infront of the turbine to even hear it.
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