Turbine noise can be stressful, expert says

Feb 24 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - David Giuliani Daily Gazette, Sterling, Ill.

The repetitive noise of wind turbines can be annoying to people, a sound expert told a Lee County panel Wednesday.

Leslie Frank, an acoustical engineer, said the noise from turbines has been known to cause stress.

He spoke for 2 hours before the county's ad hoc committee on wind farms, spending much of the time presenting scientific data on sound.

Computer modeling is the best way to set up turbines in places where the noise problem is minimized for nearby residents. That way, companies don't have to move turbines later, he said.

Many jurisdictions, including Lee County, are having big debates about how far turbines should be from homes. In Lee County, the required distance is 1,400 feet.

Frank called into question the importance of setbacks.

"Setbacks are an easy political factor to measure, but it is a crude measure. There are so many variables; the setback doesn't capture everything," he said.

Keith Bolin, a committee member and a wind industry employee, asked Frank about when noise would cause hearing loss.

Frank responded that the level of noise would have to be much higher than that of turbines and would have to continue uninterrupted for decades.

Steve Robery, another committee member, said no one suggested turbines cause hearing loss.

"Sure, some people would say the annoyance [of wind turbines] is not a health issue. But if you can't sleep on a regular basis because of it, that's a health issue," Robery said.

Robery is new to the committee, taking the place of Mark Wagner, who resigned last week. Wagner contended the process of revising the wind turbine ordinance was "fundamentally wrong" and that most of the members had a pro-wind industry bias.

Both Wagner and Robery have called for more regulation of wind farms.

The committee is supposed to provide recommendations to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which will then present proposed changes to the ordinance to the County Board. It's unclear how long the process will take.

No public comment is allowed during committee meetings.