This letter was sent to Jim Lepinski of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. The letter captures the anger and frustration of people living within a quarter-mile of industrial turbines.

This WV Supreme Court decision decided in June 2007 provides a concise argument pertaining to nuisance issues (noise, flicker, strobing) and hazards as they relate to wind energy facilities built near residences. The background of the case and the court's conclusion are listed below. The full decision, including the discussion of nuisance issues and hazards, can be downloaded by clicking on the link. The court references substantial case law to support its decision.

This chapter provides guidelines for the marking and lighting of wind turbine farms. For the purposes of this advisory circular, wind turbine farms are defined as a wind turbine development that contains more than three (3) turbines of heights over 200 feet above ground level. The recommended marking and lighting of these structures is intended to provide day and night conspicuity and to assist pilots in identifying and avoiding these obstacles.

Two industrial wind turbine farms are proposed by parent UPC Wind Partners for the town of Cohocton, NY and will permanently alter the town. The large blades on MW scale turbines can at certain times produce moving shadows on the landscape or create distracting flicker on the scenery. To capture the wind these turbines are to be installed on hilltops around the town and thus have significant potential to create a shadow flicker nuisance at great distances from the turbines. All environmental effects of projects require consideration and possible mitigation. Siting selection is important since wind turbines are a permanent installation and may significantly impair resident’s enjoyment of neighboring lands or even personal health.

As interest in wind energy spreads throughout the Commonwealth, it becomes clear that there is a need within the cities and towns of Massachusetts for suitable zoning by-laws that accommodate wind projects. To help address this need, the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources and Executive Office of Environmental Affairs developed this Model Amendment to a Zoning Ordinance or By-Law to assist cities and towns in establishing reasonable standards for wind power development. The by-law is developed as a model and not intended for adoption without review by municipal counsel:

Prepared for Horizon Wind Energy by Wind Engineers, Inc

The wind energy debate represents a new kind of environmental controversy which divides environmentalists of different persuasions who attach contrasting priority to global and local concerns. Case studies of public attitudes towards existing and proposed windfarm developments in Scotland and Ireland are used to test three counter-intuitive hypotheses derived from previous attitudinal research.

Editor's Note: This study was conducted in collaboration with the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen. The Institute's commercial arm, Macaulay Enterprises, acts as a consultant for the renewables industry, and is linked to the Scottish Renewables Forum and the British Wind Energy Association.

The pro-wind pre-disposition of the authors is evident and should not be ignored when evaluating survey results. Survey respondents generally expressed support of wind energy based on the belief that it was a solution for global warming. Given wind energy's limited effectiveness in reducing greenhouse gases based on today’s studies, we question how survey participants might respond if contacted again. The report also comments that communities selected had no organized opposition to the wind facilities. Today, throughout England, Wales and Scotland, organized opposition is the norm, not the exception.

Jon Boone's response, published in The Caledonian Record in August 2005, to those who challenged the authenticity of his DVD "Life Under a Windplant".

BBC Research & Consulting's 2005 report for the National Wind Coordinating Committee that studies 9 wind plant sitings in an effort to identify circumstances that distinguish welcomed projects from projects that were not accepted by communities.

...I want people to be well aware of the negative side of these giant windmills before allowing them to be built in your neighborhoods.