Reports that a fledgling wind farm near Wellington generated 20 noise complaints last week comes as no surprise to opponents of the proposed Te Uku wind farm. ...noise from the wind farm has been described by nearby residents as a low frequency hum, with an occasional "whump".

Clean power is regarded as an exciting possibility, but few towns have ordinances on the books to regulate potential impacts, such as noise or flickering shadows. To avoid pitfalls, several towns have imposed moratoriums and about a dozen have teamed with the county in a task force to study issues surrounding wind power.

On Thursday, Takushi Harima of the Tokyo Broadcasting System interviewed Stillings, who lives near NextEra Energy Resources' wind farm about 15 miles northeast of Valley City. Harima asked Stillings what the view was like, whether he has noticed adverse health effects and about noise.

Opposition planning spokesman Matthew Guy visited local residents of Lal Lal and Elaine on Friday to hear their concerns on the possible affect on their health and wellbeing if wind farms proposed for the area are built. ...While many people living close to the wind farms didn't notice them at all, many others were starting to cite a range of adverse health problems, including severe headaches, insomnia, dizziness, ringing in the ears, exhaustion and even blood pressure and heart issues.

Prattsburgh town officials will meet Tuesday to consider hiring a sound expert to draft a general noise ordinance aimed at regulating wind turbines. The board's action followed an initial report by Seth Waltz, president of Avl Designs, Inc. of Pensfield, on his preliminary study of noise in Prattsburgh, the neighboring town of Naples and wind farm in Cohocton operated by First Wind.

A humming noise from a wind farm near Wellington is driving sleep-deprived locals potty. "It's been horrific, it's noise torture," Makara resident Hans Renner said. "We just want some sleep, I don't think that's an unreasonable request." Haydon Miller said Meridian had promised the wind farm would not be noisy. "Either they misled us, or they got it terribly wrong."

"There can be no doubt that groups of industrial wind turbines ("wind farms") generate sufficient noise to disturb the sleep and impair the health of those living nearby," states Dr. Christopher Hanning in a recent report titled "Sleep Disturbance and Wind Turbine Noise." Founder of the Leicester Sleep Disorders Service, which is the longest standing and largest service of its kind in Great Britain, Dr. Christopher Hanning's work in the area of sleep disorders has spanned thirty years.

Debate continues looming over a plan to put wind farms up in one Southern Tier town.Community members in Prattsburgh have one main concern when it comes to wind turbines going up in their neighborhood. That concern is the noise the turbines will make.

The noise you can hear may be a problem for some individuals living near wind farms, according to Rochester- based acoustician Seth Waltz. But the noise you can't hear may be more troublesome and difficult to predict, Waltz, of avi designs, inc., told the Prattsburgh town board recently. "There is no way to guarantee you won't have a problem," Waltz told board members.

Cohocton Wind Farm leaseholder Hal E. Graham told north country residents Wednesday night about the noise and other effects the 50-turbine wind farm has had on his and his neighbors' lives. Mr. Graham has one turbine on his property, 2,000 feet from his house. A neighbor has one 1,050 feet away from Mr. Graham's house. ...

Researchers at nearby Queen's University have embarked on the first study to probe whether wind turbines built over communities can cause adverse health effects. The study measures residents' health and well-being before the turbines arrived on the island, again when the turbines were built but not yet operational and again after they'd been operating for a few months.

A couple near Ballarat say they have been forced to move out of their home because low frequency noise from nearby wind turbines is damaging their health. ...He says he and his wife Janine started experiencing health problems when the turbines were switched on. "I was waking up with headaches so I said to Janine, 'we're getting out of here', so we came to Ballarat," he said.

Laws regulating wind farms and a presentation on noise issues highlighted the special Prattsburgh town board meeting Tuesday night, July 7. The town is the site of proposed wind farms by two energy companies, Ecogen and First Wind.

By now, the residents of Wolfe Island, Ont., are getting used to the whirr and thump of wind turbines overhead. By next year, they'll get a glimpse of whether those whirrs and thumps could be damaging their health. Researchers at nearby Queen's University have embarked on the first study to probe whether wind turbines built over communities can cause adverse health effects.

Resident Charlie Porter is suing over the noise. His 20-acre farm north of King City is surrounded by the giant wind turbines. "On a bad day, what does it sound like?" KMBC's Kris Ketz asked Porter. "It sounds like a helicopter, or a train coming that never arrives," Porter said.

The managing director of the company behind two Oxford County wind farm proposals suggested the speakers at a recent "Wind Energy Information Night" overstated the alleged health risks of industrial wind turbines. Bart Geleynse of Prowind Canada Inc. said the speakers at the Hickson Central Public School meeting were claiming a causal relationship between wind turbines and health risks without any compelling evidence. ...Both David Colling, an electrical pollution consultant, and retired pharmacist Carmen Krogh were adamant about the link between wind turbines and a number of adverse symptoms, including dizziness, nausea, headaches and tinnitus.

Wind power generation is expected to be a clean and environmentally friendly natural energy source, but a new kind of environmental problem has surfaced as infrasonic waves caused by windmills are suspected of causing health problems for some people. ...Wind power generation also poses a danger to birds, which are often struck and killed by the spinning vanes of the windmills. The Japanese Environment Ministry confirmed 13 such bird strikes in which white-tailed eagles, a rare species, were killed since fiscal 2003.

Two Ripley families say they've moved out of their homes because of what they say is the negative health effects of living too close to wind turbines. "We can't live in our house anymore. We bought a house and moved to Kincardine. My son and daughter-in-law and two-year-old who live on a different farm . . . the wind company is paying for them to stay in Kincardine," said Glen Wild.

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 isle has rocked to vibrations from work off the area's coast as power giants Vattenfall build a huge wind farm project, writes Tom Betts. The loud bangs came from the Sea Jack vessel which is currently pile-driving the sea bed in order to install the foundations. The noise was heard last night (Monday, June29) across Thanet from Birchington as far round the coast as Broadstairs and even Ramsgate.