ESSEX – Ontario’s noise regulations for wind turbines are among the weakest in the world and current distance setbacks from homes should be tripled or more, a public meeting was told Monday.About 200 people crowded the Essex Civic Centre to hear experts from across the province debate the health effects of wind turbines. Using teleconferencing, some spoke from as far away as the United Kingdom.
The meeting got a little rowdy at times with some Town of Essex councillors trading barbs with taunting spectators.
One heckler told Coun. Paul Innes that he wasn’t an expert on wind turbines. “More than you, big mouth,” he retorted.
“You don’t have to lose it,” admonished Mayor Ron McDermott. Innes apologized.
The Town of Essex is considering a moratorium on wind turbines, but hasn’t made a decision.
John Harrison, a retired Queens University physicist, said Ontario Ministry of Environment guidelines now permit 40-decibel sound levels from wind turbines at homes 400 metres away.
“This is quite inadequate,” said Harrison. He said permissible sound level outside nearby homes should be reduced to 35 decibels. People need sound levels of 25 decibels or less in their bedrooms to sleep, he said.
Ontario has population densities far lower than in Europe, so it should be possible to site wind turbines farther from homes, Harrison said. “Surely we don’t need to put these turbines within 400 metres of peoples’ homes.”
The characteristic “swoosh, swoosh, swoosh” pattern of turbine noise is more annoying than steady noise, Harrison said. That should also result in more conservative noise limits, but Ontario hasn’t recognized that effect, Harrison said.
Harrison recommended a setback distance of 1.4 kilometres in situations where three turbines or more might have combined sound impacts on nearby homes. He said health authorities around the world have recommended setbacks of turbines from homes ranging from 1.4 kilometres to 2.4 kilometres.
The large turbines currently planned for Essex County are typically generating 105 decibels of sound right at the turbine blades, Harrison said. Heavy street traffic has noise levels of about 90 decibels, he said.
Essex County municipalities have adopted home setbacks of 300 metres to 600 metres in their official plans. The Town of Essex has a 450-metre setback from a turbine to home that is not hosting the turbine.
Engineer Bill Palmer, who’s an expert in risk management, pointed out Hydro One has a minimum 500 metre setback from turbines to its most important transmission lines because of the risk of falling towers and broken blades flying off.
Similarly, turbines should be a minimum distance of 500m from adjoining properties to limit the risk of broken blades reaching homes or other structures, Palmer said. Pieces of turbine blades have traveled as far as 500 metres away in some accidents, he said. Given that even small blade pieces can weigh several tonnes “it’s not a minor issue,” Palmer said.
Daren Gretz, vice-president of the energy group of wind farm insurer WillisHRH, said the first generation of turbines was more prone to failure because of “garbage technology.”
Gretz said current generations of wind turbines are built much better. “You don’t see the same kind of failure rates,” he said.
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