Murphy said one of the major concerns of residents was noise. He said the city has now modified its plans to bring the noise level below 45 decibels - a standard that will address the noise issue. Residents were also concerned about the closeness of the turbines to property lines. Murphy said the setback requirements go hand in hand with noise levels so by reducing the noise levels generated by the turbines, the structures can remain located as planned.

The residents of North Gower who crowded into a small community hall to hear about the wind farm proposed for their backyard know the time for green power has come, but that didn't stop worries about the impact of giant turbines on their health and property values. ...Many of the 300 who filed through the three-hour information session supported the idea of moving to more renewable fuels, but questioned how the sight and sound of the turbines would affect them and drive down the value of their properties.

New documents filed in an ongoing civil lawsuit by a Portage-area couple against the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm say that wind energy experts duped local officials into believing the turbine sound was insignificant. Todd and Jill Stull of the Blue Knob area say that developer Gamesa Energy USA and owner Babcock & Brown misled local officials by supporting development of an ordinance addressing higher noise levels.

A couple from West Prince has proof from the government their property has dropped in value since wind turbines were put up near their home. ...Beverly Howard told CBC News Monday there are now five new turbines within sight of their home, the closest about 500 metres away. "If you're sitting out on your deck, they're noisy, if you're out gardening they're noisy," she said.

Scott Rueter is fed up with the wind turbines that are near his home and with the company that owns them. Rueter, who was scheduled to voice his complaints to the board of supervisors at their last meeting but canceled because of illness, spent about an hour with the board on Tuesday. He said that the noise from the 2.5 megawatt turbines which are located near his home just east of Harris is overwhelming.

Blair County Judge Daniel Milliron on Friday dismissed the counts against Gamesa, which made and installed the turbines, but left intact the lawsuit against Allegheny Ridge because he believes the complaints deal with operational problems. Allegheny Ridge operates the wind farm.

A local doctor and his wife have filed a lawsuit against the operator of a nearby wind farm saying they are losing sleep from the the constant ''whooshing'' and ''screeching'' caused by the wind turbines. Blair County Judge Daniel J. Milliron on Friday concluded his initial review of the lawsuit brought by Todd and Jill Stull of Portage RD, Blair County. Milliron kept the lawsuit largely intact although he dismissed several counts of the legal complaint including one that charged Gamesa Energy and its subsidiary, Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm LLC, with creating a public nuisance.

When the state of Michigan commissioned recommendations to help formulate wind energy policies, acoustic expert Rick James saw two problems with the commission. The commission lacked both the expertise of an acoustic engineer and a medical doctor. Without these two perspectives, a major concern of wind turbines - their potential physical side effects due to the sounds they emitted - were overlooked.

Jill Stull from Portage says her life and farm have turned upside down ever since some unwelcome neighbors moved in 2006. "We want the noise to stop. I want my husband to be able to sleep in our home," Stull said. The noise she's referring to is from the six turbines surrounding her 100-acre farm. At least once a week, Stull says she can hear and feel the turbines humming, and it's a sensation she says comes at irregular intervals.

The town wind law committee created to produce a zoning amendment to deal with wind farms added a sound measurement protocol and changed setbacks from roads during its meeting Thursday afternoon. The sound protocol came from recommendations from the acoustical engineering firm Cavanaugh Tocci Associates, Sudbury, Mass., based on a wind development zoning law written for the Association of Towns and rules for noise studies written by Cape Vincent resident Clifford P. Schneider.

Planners at Cannock Chase Council have had to fork out the cash for a report about the noise impact the three proposed turbines for Bleak House open cast mine site would have. The decision on the application for the site between Heath Hayes and Chase Terrace has now been delayed until next year because the noise consultants require more information from Harworth Power.

Opponents of a proposed four-turbine wind farm in North St. Eleanors have received the support of the Medical Society of Prince Edward Island to delay the project pending a health investigation. In a letter to the city's mayor and council, long-time Summerside physician Paul Kelly made formal application to city officials that they delay the project calling for four wind turbines on the former landfill site in St. Eleanors. ..."The Medical Society of Prince Edward Island has been asked to address the issue of setback distances associated with wind turbines," he said.

Andrew Randall lives in King's Dyke, Whittlesey, with his pregnant partner Rachel Barford and one-year-old daughter Aimee, just 100 yards from the towering machine. He said the constant noise from the turning blades is causing sleepless nights and stress for Rachel, who is four months pregnant. Mr Randall (23) said: "Rachel's stressed all the time and she can't cope with the lack of sleep. I'm concerned about the health of the baby. ..."We've got a hot tub in the back garden, but it's a waste because we can't go out there, it's just too noisy."

Construction of the 35 windmills in the second phase of what will be one of Pennsylvania's largest wind farms is completed and should be in operation before the end of the year, an official with Gamesa Energy USA said. News of the anticipated startup comes as sound experts working on behalf of Portage Township completed the study setting the level of the existing - ambient - noise at and near North Allegheny Wind Farm, which is adding nine turbines to the skyline in the Blue Knob area of the township.

Wind farms are blowing land values off course, slashing property tags by up to a third in some areas and lifting others by as much $50,000 per turbine. A new study shows the presence of wind turbines significantly influence land values - but it's not all bad. The study co-incides with a new push by the Federal Government to speed up the building opf wind farms across Australia. Ballarat-based value Alan Hives said there had now been enough sales of property featuring or near wind farms to draw some conclusions of their impact on property values.

Wind energy is the latest rage in going green and in shifting the United States away from fossil-based energy supplies. And more wind turbines are coming to Oregon. It is even required by law. But with giant wind turbines now looming nearby, the Eaton's fear the rapid move to clean energy will come at the expense of their health. The problem is something called "Wind Turbine Syndrome."

John Jess has been valuing properties in Gippsland, Vic, since 1982 and says wind turbines are having a significant impact on values for both farmland and residential property. Having conducted valuations for a panel hearing on proposed wind farms, Mr Jess said farming properties appear to drop 10-15 pc near turbines. There is stronger evidence to suggest rural-residential values drop by 30-40pc near win turbines.

Not long after the wind turbines began to spin in March near Gerry Meyer's home, his son Robert, 13, and wife, Cheryl, complained of headaches. They have trouble sleeping, and Cheryl Meyer, 55, sometimes feels a fluttering in her chest. Gerry is sometimes nauseated and hears crackling. The culprit, they say, is the whooshing sound from the five industrial wind turbines near the 6-acre spread where they have lived for 37 years.

Members of the committee formed to produce a zoning amendment to deal with wind farms want specifics. During a meeting Thursday afternoon, the committee agreed to ask the acoustical engineering firm Cavanaugh Tocci Associates, Sudbury, Mass., to evaluate the noise-measuring methods in different laws. That firm panned Hessler Associates' ambient noise study in BP Alternative Energy's draft environmental impact statement for the Cape Vincent Wind Farm. "My request would be that these documents should be sent to Cavanaugh and Tocci for their review," said Richard Macsherry, Tibbetts Point.

[T]here are some negatives associated with the increasingly popular form of alternative energy, according to a University of New Hampshire expert. But the cons - mainly noise and vibrations from the rotating turbines - are generally things people can live with, UNH assistant professor of geography Mary Lemcke said. In South Berwick, a 300-foot-high ridge across from Marshwood High School is being eyed as a possible location for a wind farm. A Cape Neddick-based alternative energy company is conducting a yearlong wind study there with the hopes a wind farm would be viable. For Wisconsin resident Gerry Meyer, however, the sound of five 400-foot-tall wind turbines located within three quarters of a mile of his home is simply unbearable.