Wind turbines located too close to homes and humans can pose a health hazard, a Mars Hill area resident warned New Denmark homeowners during a REACT (Reacts Efforts Against Construction of Turbines in New Denmark) sponsored meeting held in the community recently. ...Todd said if wind turbines setbacks were increased, the negative effects on nearby landowners would be greatly reduced, if not eliminated.

The two sides are scheduled to meet Tuesday night at the company headquarters to discuss the company's 120-foot wind turbine. It was installed in April "to help Aldridge Electric offset their retail rate electricity," according to a company news release. Since then, neighbors have complained of noise levels, light from the turbine's reflective surface, and the "flicker effect" created by the rotating fan blade.

The company has a detailed complaint resolution process which it made available Thursday to The Daily News. It also has a 24-hour telephone hotline for reporting turbine issues. "We encourage people if they have a concern that they should call that number, and we check it daily," said Project Manager Eric Miller. "We keep a log of who calls."

"Since we've owned this home, I had no health problems previously," says a somewhat sleepless Jessica Nuhn. "I'm a registered nurse -- a critical care nurse. I've got my bachelor's degree and I know about health. "Since the turbines have been spinning, I've had headaches ... The noise has kept me up at night, the noise gives me headaches, the noise crushes my sinuses." Nuhn says she's never had sinus problems before, and now she sees floating spots, for which she's seeing a doctor.

As the state pushes wind energy and communities create guidelines to accommodate it, those living in the shadow of Mark Richey's wind turbine wonder if the effort is at their expense. The Richey turbine meets the general spirit of the state's guidelines as well as the city's current wind turbine bylaw, under which Richey received a special permit that allows a turbine in an industrial zone to be at least 300 feet from a residential zone. ...As the city takes a closer look at its wind ordinance, neighbors are arguing that the rules most officials are accepting as well thought out are out of sync with reality.

Jason LaCroix, 14 Hill St., told councilors of the "human effect" the turbine has caused in the neighborhood. He recently purchased and put in a new glass door on his house. He had to take it out after he saw the shadows of the turbine's rotors on his wall reflecting off the glass. On his rooftop deck, the turbine is "virtually eye level," he said. The flicker study done for the Richey turbine wasn't accurate and minimized what impact it would have on the Back Bay neighborhood.

Newburyport has its own laser light show, or an equivalent thereof, from an unlikely source: the new industrial-sized wind turbine that recently was turned on in the industrial park. At night, from the middle of the northbound lane of Route 1, the twirling blades catch the red beacon light atop the massive structure, and the light shoots out along the blades. It's pretty spectacular, but not if the light is shooting right into the window of your home.

A northern Missouri man has filed a lawsuit against farm equipment maker Deere & Co. and a wind energy company alleging nearby wind turbines have hurt his property values and made him ill. Charlie Porter filed the lawsuit in the 4th Circuit Court of Missouri against Deere and The Wind Capital Group, a St. Louis-based wind energy company.

In late February 2009 the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) received a request from the Office of Energy Security (OES) in the Minnesota Department of Commerce, for a “white paper” evaluating possible health effects associated with low frequency vibrations and sound arising from large wind energy conversion systems (LWECS). MDH agreed to evaluate health impacts from wind turbine noise and low frequency vibrations. In discussion with OES, MDH also proposed to examine experiences and policies of other states and countries. Below are the Introduction and Conclusions of the white paper released in May 2009. The full report can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.

This suit was filed against the Village of Libertyville (IL) and DPR Investments LLC shortly after a business-scale wind turbine was erected and became operational within 600 feet of residential properties. The Entegrity 50 kilowatt, 120-foot turbine is owned by DPR Investments doing business as Aldridge Electric Company. Complaints of noise, shadow flicker and blade flicker were heard right after the turbine started turning. On July 24, 2009, the Court issued a compromise ruling stating that the turbine was affecting neighboring residents and restricted the turbine hours of operation to weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (see: http://www.windaction.org/news/22373 )