canwea- addressing concerns about wind energy

8/6/2019 CanWEA- Addressing Concerns About Wind Energy

1/19

Responding to Concernsabout Wind Energy

Prepared by theCanadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA)

August 2007


2/19

Concerns around wind

The wind industry takes these very seriously:

Public concerns are understandable and they are to beexpected with any technology that is new to the social,

political and economic landscape

Key is to ensure that good decisions are made on goodinformation and good science

Important to distinguish between:

Fact (peer-reviewed) and speculation (not reviewed)

Quantitative (science-based) and qualitative(judgement-based) issues


3/19

The Issues Project siting issues:

Audible sound

Low frequency sound (infrasound)

Environmental impacts (birds and bats)

Property values

Impacts on agricultural practices

Visual impacts

Setback distances

Interference with telecommunications

Turbine lighting

Shadow flicker

System-wide issues: Reliability

Economics


4/19

Audible sound What concerns are raised:

Turbines emit a horrendous noise that makes it impossible to live anywherenear them

What we know:

Wind turbines do produce sound (swoosh of blades) Actual sound level is influenced by many factors including the type of

turbine, wind speed, surrounding topography

Sound often masked by surrounding environment

How we address these concerns: All projects must meet regulatory requirements for sound

CanWEA Best Practices based on acceptable sound outside dwelling: 40dBA at 4 m/s rising to 53 dBA at 11 m/s (reflects fact that ambient soundtends to rise with wind speed)

Acceptable separation distances for sound aregenerally 300 to 600 m (can be less for participating landowners)


5/19

Infrasound and

Amplitude Modulation (AM) What concerns are raised:

Low frequency sound causes health problems

What we know:

Peer-reviewed studies indicate that levels produced by turbines are similarto ambient levels in the natural environment and are below levels known to

have an impact on human health. Large-scale study in the U.K. concluded that despite press articles to the

contrary, the incidence of wind farm noise and AM is low.

Study also found that industrial complaints occur 10,000 - 100,000 timesmore frequently than complaints against wind farms.

U.K. government subsequently stated that based on these findings,Government does not consider there to be a compelling case for furtherwork into AM

How we address these concerns: At this time, there is little scientific basis to support allegations of negative

impacts on human health or the environment)

Present peer-reviewed facts on subject


6/19

Environmental impacts (avian) What concerns are raised:

Wind turbines are a major threat to birds and bats

What we know:

Wind turbines can potentially have impacts on birds and bats throughcollisions and habitat disruption

Impact is much less than that of buildings, house cats or the climaticchanges that are impacting many bird habitats.

The National Audubon Society stated that on balance, Audubon stronglysupports wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces thethreat of global warming

Limited number of cases of high bat mortality at wind farms; the causes arenot yet fully understood

How we address these concerns:

The key is proper siting and understanding avian behaviour

Wind farms must get approval from Federal and Provincial environmentalassessment processes

Industry working with Bat Conservation Internationalto better understand impacts on bats


7/19

Property Values What concerns are raised:

Wind turbines will reduce the value of homes in the vicinity

What we know:

Issue has been studied more in the U.S. than Canada (simply becausethere is more historical data)

Some studies show property values increasing and others show themdeclining

Recent study by Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) in the U.S. wasone of the most comprehensive it found that there was no evidence that

property values decreased as a result of wind farms [] for the greatmajority of projects the property values actually rose more quickly in theview shed than they did in the comparable community. Moreover, valuesincreased faster in the view shed after the projects came online than they

did before." How we address these concerns:

CanWEA undertaking a project of similar scopelooking at Canadian installations


8/19

Impacts on agricultural practices What concerns are raised:

Wind turbines interfere with crop dusters and otherwise disrupt howfarmers use their land

What we know:

Turbines only occupy 5% of the land, and cattle often graze up to the base

of the turbines Extra income from turbines helps support agricultural activities (this is why

wind is supported by several agriculture federations in the U.S. andCanada)

Some have claimed that turbines amount to no fly zones for aerialapplicators (crop dusters) this is patently false according to TransportCanada

Crop dusting currently takes place around at least one wind farm

How we address these concerns: Encourage wind developers to act proactively with farmers and crop dusters

to facilitate crop dusting when and where appropriate

Providing information to farmers and developers


9/19

Visual Impacts What concerns are raised:

Wind turbines will be a blight on the landscape

What we know: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Early consultation and engagement are key issue is often tied to concernsaround property value

There are many tools available to assist a promoter and community indesigning a wind farm to minimize visual impacts, and preserve certainviewscapes

Developer can shift turbine locations to suit community wishes whilebalancing engineering requirements of site

How we address these concerns: Difficult to address at a macro-level as the issue is a) project-specific and b)

largely qualitative

Encourage early and frequent consultations between developers andcommunities


10/19

Setback Distances What concerns are raised:

Setbacks of one to two kilometers are needed between turbines anddwellings to ensure they are not a nuisance

What we know:

Setbacks between turbines and dwellings should be based on sound levels(generally acceptable: 300 600 metres)

Setbacks between turbines and roads / property lines should be based onsafety e.g. ice shedding or turbine failure (generally acceptable: bladelength + 10 m)

How we address these concerns: Currently developing a position on setbacks in Ontario it is generally

considered that this will form the basis for a national standard

Need to work with municipalities and municipalassociations to ensure that setbacks arebased on Best Practices


11/19

Interference with telecommunications What concerns are raised:

Wind turbines interfere with radar and television systems

What we know: In certain circumstances, wind turbines can negatively affect radio,

telecommunications, radar or seismoacoustic systems within a certain

distance of the turbines Must ensure sufficient setbacks from these systems prior to project

construction mitigation measures are possible

Very few documented cases of interference with home TV or telephonereception

How we address these concerns: CanWEA and the Radio Advisory Board of Canada (RABC) issued

guidelines to help determine early in the process if a potential site mayinterfere with any of these installations

In these cases, mitigation measures canoften rectify any case of interference


12/19

Turbine Lighting What concerns are raised:

There will be lots of lights on the turbines, blinking incessantly and ruiningthe view

What we know: As with all tall structures, turbines must be lit according to Transport

Canada standards Lighting has to a) provide sufficient warning to pilots, b) not attract birds,

and c) not hinder night sky viewing

How we address these concerns: CanWEA worked with Transport Canada and others (pilot association,

Canadian Wildlife Service, skywatchers) to develop standard thataddressed wide range of concerns

Current requirements are for single red flashing lights on turbines aroundthe perimeter of the windfarm

System ensures pilot safety and environmental protection, while remainingunobtrusive for communities


13/19

Shadow Flicker What concerns are raised:

The sun flashing through the rotating blades will act like a strobe light

What we know: Effect occurs when a) sun is low enough, b) the turbine shadow falls on a

residence, and c) it is not cloudy Easily modeled as part of the wind farm siting process

No evidence that effect has any impact on humans or animals (note thatflashes only occur once per second)

No guidelines currently in place in Canada

In Germany, allow 30 hours per year under worst case

How we address these concerns: Promote awareness of issue and encourage consultations between

promoters and adjacent landowners

Issue can easily be addressed at early stage


14/19

Reliability What concerns are raised:

Wind energy is an intermittent energy source that we cannot count on aspart of a reliable electricity system

What we know:

Although the output of one turbine varies, the output of several wind farmsover a wide geographic area is consistent

Accurate wind forecasting can ease wind integration

Wind farms must adhere to grid codes that ensure they contribute to overallgrid stability and reliability

Countries like Denmark, Spain and Germany are now able to obtain 22%,8% and 6% (respectively) of their electricity from wind energy, without

jeopardizing system reliability

How we address these concerns: Work with utilities on grid codes and wind integration studies

Sharing utility experience and knowledge gained fromgrid integration studies in Canada and the U.S.


15/19

Economics What concerns are raised:

Wind energy is much more expensive than other generation sources

Wind energy receives undue subsidies from government

What we know:

Current prices range from 8 to 11 cents per kWh for large wind projects(greater than 10 MW) - already cost-effective in comparison with certainconventional generation sources

Winds costs are expected to go down while the costs of other technologies(e.g., coal / gas) are expected to go up

Wind can be built quickly and incrementally

All technologies are subsidized, but in different forms (e.g., tax breaks for oiland gas exploration)

How we address these concerns: Encourage putting a value on winds environmental attributes (e.g.

generation of offset credits)

Providing info on current wind pricing


16/19

Summary Concerns (and misperceptions) are inevitable

Relatively new technology to the landscape

In absence of facts, misperceptions grow easily

Debate on wind is a good thing Need to base decisions on solid, peer-reviewed facts

In many cases, the real concern is hidden (e.g. visual impactconcerns stem from worries around property value)

Open communications can resolve many issues

Concerns often linked to getting used to wind

Familiarity breeds comfort Industrys responsibility

CanWEA and members working to establish sound basis fordebate, and create effective communications tools


17/19

References Audible sound

Wind Turbines and Sound: Review and Best PracticeGuidelines, HGC Engineering, February 2007 -http://www.canwea.ca/Environmental_Issues.cfm

CanWEA Fact Sheet: Visual and sound - The sights andsounds of windhttp://www.canwea.ca/Fact_Sheets_eng.cfm

Infrasound and amplitude modulation

Research into Aerodynamic Modulation of Wind TurbineNoise, University of Salford, UK, July 2007 -http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file40570.pdf

Wind Turbines and Infrasound, HGC Engineering, Nov2006, http://www.canwea.ca/Environmental_Issues.cfm


18/19

References Environmental impacts (avian)

Wind Turbines and Birds: A Guidance Document forEnvironmental Assessment - Final Document andRecommended Protocols for Monitoring Impacts of WindT

urbines on Birds, Canadian Wildlife Service,http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/eval/index_e.cfm

CanWEA Fact Sheet: Wildlife: Birds, bats and wind energyhttp://www.canwea.ca/Fact_Sheets_eng.cfm

Interference with telecommunications

Technical Information on the Assessment of the PotentialImpact of Wind Turbines on Radio Communication, Radarand Seismoacoustic Systems, Radio Advisory Board ofCanada (RABC) and CanWEA, April 2007http://www.canwea.ca/Standards_and_Technical.cfm


19/19

References

Property Values:

"The Effect Of Wind Development On Local Property

Values Renewable Energy Policy Project, May 2003 -

http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/binaries/wind_online_final.pdf

Reliability:

See materials prepared by the Utility Wind Interest Group

(UWIG): http://www.uwig.org/opimpactsdocs.html

canwea- addressing concerns about wind energy

Documents