by jboullion | Oct 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
Even though the quotes below from pre-filed statements take the form of rebuttal testimony in the PSC proceedings on We Energies Glacier Hills Wind Park, they can stand on their own. You need not read the filings they rebut in order to make sense out of what they’re saying.
The pre-filed testimony stands among the strongest redupiation of anti-wind arguments.
These filings will be formally entered into the record when the technical hearings begin on November 2nd, but they (and all other filings) are available online at the Web site of the Public Service Commission and link directlyi to case 6630-CE-302.
Richard Larkin, a state certified real estate appraiser, rebuts a “study” of property values paid for by the Coaliton for Wisconsin Environmental Stewardship (CWESt), a group opposing the Glacier Hills project:
I am responding to testimony submitted by Kurt Kielisch on behalf of CWESt, in 1 which he claims that paired sales analyses at the Blue Sky Green Field and Forward wind projects shows that proximity to wind turbines results in a significant negative impact on residential real estate values. There are significant (and probably fatal) problems with his analysis, which I will explain in my testimony. . . .
. . .it is my opinion that Appraisal One’s Wind Turbine Impact Study is significantly flawed, and in my opinion, likely meaningless.
Read all of Larkin’s testimony here.
William Roberts, PhD in Epidemiology, former faculty member with the Medical College of Wisconsin (Dept. of Preventative Medicine), former Oklahoma State Epidemiologist dissects Dr. Nina Pierpont’s “research” and rebuts CWESt’s acoustical consultant. He summarized his testimony as follows:
+ “Wind Turbine Syndrome” is not a medical diagnosis supported by peer reviewed, published, scientific literature;
+ The materials presented to support “Wind Turbine Syndrome” are not of sufficient scientific quality nor have they received the rigorous scientific review and vetting that is customarily part of the peer review and publishing process;
+ The tried and true scientific method of developing a hypothesis, testing that hypothesis, publishing the results and having others attempt to repeat the research has not been done to test the existence of a health condition called “Wind Turbine Syndrome;”
+ An accumulation of anecdotal interviews with self-selected persons living near a wind turbine does not constitute an epidemiological study and is not sufficient to determine causation;
+ The bases for claimed adverse health effects due to wind turbines cited by Mr. James either cannot withstand scientific scrutiny or have nothing to do with wind turbines; and
+ Siting a wind turbine within view of a residence and the operation of that turbine could be a source of annoyance to those living in the residence.
Read all of Roberts’ testimony here.
Geoff Leventhall, acoustical consultant, PhD in acoustics, presented testimony to rebut CWESt’s acoustical consultant.
Based on my experience of infrasound and low frequency noise, it is my belief that the infrasound from wind turbines is of no consequence. Attempts to claim that illnesses result from inaudible wind turbine noise do not stand up to simple analyses of the very low forces and pressures produced by the sound from wind turbines. Additionally, the body is full of sound and vibration at infrasonic and low frequencies, originating in natural body processes. As an example, the beating heart is an obvious source of infrasound within the body. Other sources of background low frequency noise and vibration are blood flows, muscle vibrations, breathing, fluids in the gut and so on. The result is that any effect from wind turbine noise, or any other low level of noise, which might be produced within the body is “lost” in the existing background noise and vibration. This is considered in more detail in my Appraisal of Wind Turbine Syndrome, which is submitted as Exhibit 18.
More broadly, my testimony establishes that the claims of health effects from the low levels of infrasound and low frequency noise from wind turbines, as described in the Wind Turbine Syndrome and Vibroacoustic Disease hypotheses, fail. However, higher frequency noise from wind turbines, if it is audible, can cause disturbance to some residents, but this effect is no different from that of noise from another source.
Read all of Leventhall’s testimony here.
by jboullion | Oct 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Magnetek:
Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Magnetek, Inc. (NYSE: MAG) today announced that it has received a follow-on production order for wind power inverters valued at $11 million. Magnetek’s modular utility-scale wind power inverters regulate and transform DC power generated by wind turbines into utility-grade AC power, which is distributed to the power transmission grid. Magnetek’s E-Force Wind Inverters are to be delivered to its customer beginning in December 2009 through November 2010.
Wind power has been one of the fastest growing sources of power generation globally. In the United States, which has surpassed Germany as the largest wind power market, the five-year average (2004-2008) annual growth rate for wind power installations was 32%, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). With an installed base of 25,369 MW in operation at the end of 2008, the U. S. was also the 2008 world leader in new wind installations. While AWEA estimates a slower growth rate in 2009, wind power installations are still projected to grow by 5,000 MW (20%) or more this year. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 extended the production tax credit for the wind industry to 2012, with an alternate option to secure a grant from the Treasury Department in the amount of a 30% investment tax credit.
by jboullion | Oct 21, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:
MADISON — The Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association will receive a $16,500 grant to conduct energy audits on cranberry marshes, the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced Friday.
The Wisconsin Rapids-based association will partner with Focus on Energy to assess the feasibility of cranberry marshes as sites for wind and solar energy production. The study is one of 12 projects and eight state-facilitated programs to collectively garner nearly $750,000 awarded to make specialty crops more competitive.
by jboullion | Oct 20, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Dave Alexander in the Meskegon Chronicle:
Grand Valley State University’s wind turbine testing project for Muskegon Lake is shifting in a new direction.
Instead of a wind turbine at the east end of Muskegon Lake, GVSU’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center now is planning to move a wind test platform to Lake Michigan, where data can be collected on the pros and cons of turbines on a major lake.
The university has received $1.4 million in an “earmark” from U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, to advance wind turbine generation on the Great Lakes.
The idea of testing a turbine on Muskegon Lake is cost prohibitive with the federal dollars available, according to Arn Boezaart, interim director of the Muskegon-based MAREC. Efforts to partner with L-3 Communications in Muskegon have not been successful.
Discussions with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and those interested in advancing a Great Lakes wind industry in West Michigan led to the idea of a floating, data-collection platform in Lake Michigan.
The platform would hold a anemometer that gauges wind speed. . . .
A data-collection platform established from 6-10 miles off the Muskegon shoreline would be left on the lake for two or three years. It would provide year-round wind data.
The floating platform also could test anchoring systems and show how Lake Michigan ice movements in the winter would affect an eventual lake-based turbine installation, Boezaart said.
by jboullion | Oct 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
The Public Service Commission issued the final environmental impact statement (EIS) on the Glacier Hills Wind Park, and it includes these items:
Medical Impacts (page 68)
UW Med Flight is the responding air ambulance service closest to the Glacier Hills project area. UW Med Flight and the other reswponding agencies plan to develop safe landing sites or locations within the project area to which medical helicopters could be dispatched. Establishing alternative landing zones in an area is a common tool employed by medical helicopter services where terrain, vegetation, or
structures restrict landing sites….
In some instances, alternate landing sites may not be required; a medical helicopter can land in proximity to a wind turbine if it is safe and prudent to do so. There do not seem to be any UW Med Flight rulers or policies that would preclude landing within a project area if it is safe to do so. The decision about where to land is the pilot’s and is based on a variety of site factcors that present themselves upon arrival at an emergency scene. For example, closer landins to a turbine might be possible if the winds are calm and the wind turbine rotors are not rotating.
Sound Impacts (Page 82)
The studies done to date suggest that there is a wide variability in how peopole react to wind turbine noise and that many people do no appear to be affected. The studies do, however, support the concern that some people do react negatively to wind turbine noise, primarily through annoyance and sleep disturbance. It is widely accepted that disruption of sleep can lead to other physiological and psychological problems.
Dr. Nina Pierpont has hypothesized that in addition to annoyance and disturbance, wind turbine noise can result in direct activation of the vestibular and autonomic system leading to other health problems. The validity of this suggestion has been questioned. The Minnesota Department of Health concluded that “evidence is scant” for this hypothesis.
In summary, it is important to recognize that turbine noise can be problematic for some people. Although specific sound levels or distances from turbines cannot be directly correlated with these disturbance or annoyance problems, project design and siting should take potential impactcs of turbine noise into account.
Property Values (page 84)
A more recent study of two recently completed Wisconsin wind farms was completed by Appraisal Group One. This study contained similar problems of small sample size and weak statistical analyses. While the study was limited to residential vacany land sales, other potential factors that might influence sales prices were not analyzed. The study did not verify that all properties sold within the wind farm areas actually had views of wind turbines, whether the properties were sold prior to the proposal of a wind facility versus after the facilities were constructed and operating, and it did not differentiate between vacant lots with infrastructure potential such as streets, sewer, and water as opposed to farmland with no infrastructure.
