Opponents of the Enbridge wind farm in Kincardine are dismayed with an Ontario Municipal Board decision that allows the 110-turbine development to go ahead. Enbridge will build 80-metre-tall turbines across a 16,000-hectare area of Kincardine. Residents objected to 55 of the turbines, citing concerns over noise, shadow flicker and setback distances from neighbouring homes. During seven weeks of evidence, they argued for tougher noise standards and bigger setbacks to prevent noise problems. Instead, the Municipal Board decision approved the project and gave Enbridge 90 days to come up with a procedure to handle noise complaints. That's no comfort to residents, said spokesperson Kathy McCarrel.

A study commissioned by the P.E.I. government into noise from the Eastern Kings Wind Farm has found the sound level for nearby residents is within acceptable limits. In April, Elmira resident Dwayne Bailey, who lives about one kilometre from the wind farm, complained that noise from the turbines was so loud, his sleep was being disturbed and he was becoming ill. A monitoring program by the firm Jacques Whitford and Associates measured noise on six occasions, for about 18 hours each time. The study concluded noise from the turbines meets, or is lower than, noise level guidelines throughout Canada.

Opposition is growing to giant wind turbines as the novelty of being paid for wind wears off. In St. Joseph, south of Winnipeg, a concerned citizens group is protesting a proposal by Bowark Energy Ltd. of Calgary to install 63 wind turbines across a 13-kilometre stretch of arable land. In Elie, just west of Winnipeg, some residents are demanding a study on long-term costs of a wind turbine proposal by Sequoia Energy. Applications for the next wave of wind turbines in Manitoba closed Tuesday. The province and Manitoba Hydro will approve three of about 30 proposals submitted. Complaints about wind power systems include noise, loss of property value, and a perception that the turbines are eyesores junking up the uninterrupted prairie horizon people are used to.

Dwayne Bailey has some simple advice for Gulf Shore residents fighting a proposed wind farm in their area, don't give up the fight because they may regret the consequences. Bailey recently abandoned his Elmira, P.E.I., home because noise from a nearby wind farm was becoming intolerable. It kept the family awake at night and impacted their health with headaches and vision problems. "Don't let them put up the windfarm, it's way too close to the houses. It chased us out of our house and it could happen to someone else. We didn't have much a choice and it resulted in us leaving our home," Bailey said, adding his parents also abandoned their home.

Atlantic Wind Power Corp had participated in the Wind Power Production Incentive (WIPPI) which is a grant of $10 million (of tax payer's money) over a period of nine years. Natural Resources Canada (NRC) has asked AWPC to produce a proposal as to how they can mitigate the excessive noise at Pubnico. If they cannot produce a proposal (and act on it) to NRC's liking they can cancel the grant. Last May, NRC retained Howe Gastmeier Chapnik Limited (HGC Ltd) to conduct a noise study (again, tax payer's money) of the Pubnico wind farm. This was in response to noise complaints by Daniel d'Entremont and his family.

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Twp. Council recently received a letter of response back from the Minister of Environment, Laurel Broten, following their meeting in February. The letter from Broten states, "The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) is involved with setback distances between wind turbines and points of reception for the purpose of compliance with the ministry's noise limits. Wind turbines require a Certificate of Approval (Noise) under section nine of the Environmental Protection Act (EP A) unless the project is specifically exempt.

The appellants of the Enbridge Ontario Wind Power project wrapped up their portion of the turbine noise arguments at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing last week. The hearing reconvened after the holiday weekend on May 23, with testimony by meteorological and atmospheric specialist Dr. Jim Young, who sat for part of Thursday as well. He was followed by acoustic engineer John Coulter later that day, with Enbridge and the Municipality cross-examining him on Friday. Both were arguing that there will be unwanted noise impacts to local residents, if the turbines remain in their current proximity to homes; the closest of which is 450 metres.

The Ontario Municipal Board wrapping up the second week of hearings into the Enbridge Wind Farm project in Kincardine.

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Township council is sending a letter to the Ministry of Environment asking for an immediate response to a report on the affects of noise from wind turbines. At council's March 20 meeting, Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek said the township still has not received a response back from Minister Laurel Broten who they met while attending a conference in Toronto in late February. Coun. Doug Miller said it was the minister, herself, who said the ministry would respond to their questions and a report by Dr. Vandenberg,

P.E.I. has hired a consultant to review the level of noise coming from wind turbines at the new Eastern Kings Wind Farm. Some people living in the area complain the noise is keeping them up at night. One resident says he may move if the noise problem continues. “We’re going to have monitors set up right at the wind farm, another monitor probably halfway between the wind farm and the individual’s house and then we’ll have the third one at the individual’s house — outside,” Environment Minister Jamie Ballem told CBC News Wednesday. “We’ve also asked the people to record or keep a diary. So that way we can find out if it’s wind conditions, are the turbines even turning, which direction is the wind, so we can really narrow down what the issue is here.” The government has hired the consulting firm of Jacques Whitford to do the study. The final report will be presented to the government in a few weeks with any recommendations for change.

Noise from the new wind farm at East Point on P.E.I. is loud enough that some some residents of Elmira say it wakes them up in the middle of the night. "It's something like a washing machine when the clothes get off to one side. It goes thump, thump, thump. It's similar to that. Some people say it's like a jet engine," said Elmira resident Dwayne Bailey, who lives about one kilometre away from the turbines.

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Twp. council is sending a letter to the Ministry of Environment asking for an immediate response to a report on the affects of noise from wind turbines. At council's March 20 meeting, Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek said the township still has not received a response back from Minister Laurel Broten who they met while attending a conference in Toronto in late February. Coun. Doug Miller said it was the minister, herself, who said the ministry would respond to their questions and a report by Dr. Vandenberg,

SCOTSBURN – Residents living near a wind turbine on Fitzpatrick Mountain want stricter regulations put in place to prevent the turbines from being put too close to homes. In the right weather conditions, says nearby resident Wayne Pierce, the turbines can make a “noise like a jet aircraft in place overhead.” County council is in the process of creating a new bylaw to put regulations in place on the distance wind turbines must be from other properties. The proposed bylaw would require turbines to be placed three times the height of the turbine from the property line. That’s not enough for Pierce, however, who believes the distance should be taken from adjacent homes.

He put his existing knowledge together with a little research and has now come to the same conclusion as Dr. David Suzuki: Wind farms have a place in Ontario’s energy mix, but it’s a small role, and the turbines need to be placed where the pollution from wind farms isn’t a threat to humans and animals. One key point that needs to be understood, says Lee, is that the practicality of wind power is generally overstated in the public conscious. Wind power, of course, is only available when the wind blows, which means that when the wind isn’t blowing you’d have to switch back to fossil fuel generated electricity anyway to keep the lights on — and that means wind power can’t be built out to replace our fossil fuel base load. In fact, countries in Europe that have installed wind power as base load find they end up buying power on the spot market when the wind isn’t blowing and then selling their wind power at a loss when the wind is blowing (but air conditioners aren’t being used as intensely). Denmark is often considered a leader in wind energy but according to Lee it ends up selling 84% of its power at a loss. “European countries that have put in a lot of wind power end up subsidizing their neighbors,” says Lee. “Wind power has not yet enabled the closure of a single fossil-fueled generating station anywhere in the world.” .........According to Lee, it’s often been suggested that the theoretical maximum for the amount of base load that can be derived from wind power is 15%, but even that seems to be a stretch. A more likely percentage seems to be 3% or 5%, says Lee.

Amaranth Township Council will seek to have the Canadian Hydro Developers existing transformer substation included as an issue at an Ontario Municipal Board hearing into the Melancthon II wind-turbine project. Mayor Don MacIver told township CAO Sue Stone to advise the CHD lawyers accordingly, after the council had heard a recording of noise levels near the substation, said to be as high as 65 decibels, at Wednesday’s meeting, In playing the recording, Paul Thompson, a neighbour of the substation, said there is a constant hum from the transformer — constantly at 40 dB, he said — but rising for about 10-20 seconds to as much as 65 when the CHD transmission goes back on grid after being off for a time, according to his recorded demonstration, although the under-construction sound barriers are intended to reduce it to 31 dB. Mr. Thompson said the sound reflects off a metal shed on his property. “If you listen (long) it gets in your head, and you can’t get it out,” he said.

A Nova Scotia man and his family claim to have been left homeless after the noise from a nearby windfarm made his family home in Lower West Pubnico uninhabitable. Daniel d’Entremont says that two of the 1.8-megawatt turbines that make up the 17 turbine farm, are located just 300 metres from his home. As a result he says that his children developed disruptive behaviour and his family’s health suffered. D’Entremont’s angry that when councillors from the Municipality of Argyle, which covers Pubnico, developed their bylaw determining the location of wind turbines in relation to residential properties they came up with a 300-metre setback.

A Nova Scotia man who abandoned his home, claiming noise from a nearby wind farm made his family sick, says a study by an audio expert proves his case, even though a report to the federal government concludes the exact opposite. Daniel d’Entremont and his family left their home in the southwestern Nova Scotia community of Lower West Pubnico last February. D’Entremont says the 17 wind turbines that tower over the community — the closest just 400 metres away — were sending low-frequency vibrations into the house. This inaudible noise, he claims, deprived his family of sleep, gave his children and wife headaches and made it impossible for them to concentrate.

Experts agree that LFN, at sufficient levels, may be a health concern for those who are sensitive to its effects. The effects of inaudible levels of LFN have not been sufficiently studied to date to rule out the possibility of health effects, but commentators have weighed in on each side of the debate. Setbacks and noise surveys are common requirements imposed on new wind farm developments, in part to minimize the risk of wind turbines causing health effects on local residents.

A new report suggests a wind farm in Pubnico Point isn't the health threat a local resident claims it is. Daniel d'Entremont lives next to the wind turbines, and, he says, it's like having a pebble in your shoe: It's not terribly uncomfortable at first, but over time it becomes unbearable. D'Entremont says his wife and and one of his children are losing their eyesight because of low-level vibrations from the turbines. But the report, prepared for the federal government, says any low-frequency vibrations are not significant enough to be a concern.

An Ashfield-Colborne Wawanosh Twp. resident believes council and the planning department are not doing enough research to address concerns about health issues caused by wind turbines. Ernie Marshall presented to council, at their Oct. 17 meeting, two reports outlining health issues related to wind turbines. He said his greatest concern is the noise level from the turbines which is much higher than the level stated by EPCOR and it is causing him a great deal of distress. “The noise is not so much what you can hear but what you can feel,” he said.