"Industrial wind turbine noise varies with the atmosphere and terrain. Often one of the quietest places to stand near a turbine is right underneath it. It's a little like standing beneath a 400 foot tall speaker. Turbine noise is broadcast outward and is especially troublesome at night when the air near the ground is still and the air at hub height is in motion. Standing beneath a turbine in the afternoon is the way most people who do not live in wind farms make their judgement about wind turbine noise. They stand there, listen for a minute, take pictures and drive off, go home and tell their friends that wind turbines don't make noise. People who live in wind farms know more about turbine noise than they ever wanted to, and can't just drive off. Next time you want to listen to turbines, try it at nighttime, about 1000 feet to a quarter mile downwind from a turbine to get a better idea about what all the noise about turbine noise is about." - Larry Wuncsh
Safe setbacks: How far should wind turbines be from homes? Let's start with what one manufacturer considers to be safe for its workers. The safety regulations for the Vestas V90, with a 300-ft rotor span and a total height of 410 feet, tell operators and technicians to stay 1,300 feet from an operating turbine -- over 3 times its total height -- unless absolutely necessary. That already is a much greater distance than many regulations currently require as a minimum distance between wind turbines and homes, and it is concerned only with safety, not with noise, shadow flicker, or visual intrusion. In February 2008, a 10-year-old Vestas turbine with a total height of less than 200 feet broke apart in a storm. Large pieces of the blades flew as far as 500 meters (1,640 feet) -- more than 8 times its total height. The Fuhrländer turbine planned for Barrington, R.I., is 328 feet tall with a rotor diameter of 77 meters, or just over 250 feet (sweeping more than an acre of vertical air spa...