ANSWERING WIND’S PROTESTORS

Wind farm security: Taking the wind out of protesters; Whether their arguments carry weight or not, anti-wind protestors can cause significant headaches to wind farm operators. There are ways to lessen the level of opposition, however.
Jason Deign, 30 May 2011 (Wind Energy Update)

"Anyone who thinks anti-wind farm protestors are essentially a harmless bunch should consider Richard Herbert. On Monday evening, May 21, 2007, the 47-year-old father of three drowned himself in a water-filled drain near his farm at St John’s Fen End, King’s Lynn, UK… Herbert, who had been getting treatment for mental health problems, cracked over opposition to a wind farm planned on his land. Protestors had threatened legal action and brought down a GBP£100,000-plus anemometer in previous weeks…

"In January this year…vandals caused USD$5,000 in damage after firing shots at a BP Wind Energy turbine in Bonneville County, Idaho, USA. The month before, a shooter with a small-calibre weapon took out a transformer at a wind farm in Huron County, Michigan…Such cases of vandalism are rare...[but] protestors raise more serious concern…in their ability to stall planning permissions…[W]ell-organised cell groups…operate websites and…try to manipulate town councils…file lawsuits and actively lobby for changes…In Wisconsin…anti-wind pressure led to governor Scott Walker to suspend a Public Service Commission rule on wind farm permitting, throwing project viability into doubt and causing a number of developers, including Invenergy, to pull out of the state…"

Almost no interference with developed land use (click to enlarge)

[Michael Vickerman, executive director, Renew Wisconsin:] "…[W]hat makes the anti-wind farm pill even bitterer to swallow is the fact that most of opposition on alleged environmental grounds comes from [newer residents in rural areas] who have little connection with the environment…They have zero appreciation for how energy intensive their lives are. And they have almost nothing in common with farm families who have been living in that area for generations.”

[Nick Medic, head of communications, RenewableUK:] “Farmers have a practical and businesslike attitude towards their land. It is their livelihood. What we find is farmers working hard to get projects off the ground.”

Almost no impact on property values (click to enlarge)

"…The anti-wind lobby typically gets no benefit from the industry, though, and alleges that nearby wind farms lead to symptoms of anxiety and sleep deprivation through mechanisms such as noise, shadow flicker and even mysterious, undetectable ground currents…There are also concerns that turbines could kill birds or bats, and may even pose a threat to human safety through ice throws, blade breakages or fires. These risks do undoubtedly exist…[but] as long as [the much more dangerous] traditional energy sources are extracted out of sight…the wind industry will likely have to contend with a significant not-in-my-backyard backlash from a vocal minority…

"…[D]evelopers can minimise the impact…[1, by keeping] neighbours at arm’s length by building in adequate set-back distances or buying up nearby homes…[2, by learning local demographics and building] where the neighbours are mostly farmers…[3, building] smaller clusters of turbines [that] attract less opposition than big wind farms…[4, using new turbine designs to] overcome other issues such as [the nuisance of aircraft warning lights atop turbines,] shadow flicker and landscape impact...[6, turning some turbines] off at night when power demand is reduced…[7] stopping turbines at dawn and dusk [to] reduce bat kills…[and, 8, recompensing complainants] either directly with a small annual sum or through a community fund…"