The impact of wind developments on rural communities is perceived to be both positive and negative. A number of landholders receive income from hosting turbines (approximately $7,000 per year per turbine) and certain businesses/contractors may be hired during the construction phrase (i.e., for concrete or fencing).  Bringing income into rural areas is positive and people are generally very supportive of the need for renewable energy and glad to be able to do their bit.  However, it is often the way in which these developments are brought into the community that causes deep and irreparable divisions between neighbours that could potentially continue for generations.

Neighbouring landholders and others who will be affected are often given little  consideration in the planning of these developments, and receive no compensation for their loss of amenity and other problems.  Neighbours are often expected to live close to turbines (i.e., 400-500 metres) and/or have their views obstructed by them, as well as enduring low frequency noise and vibration, shadow flicker and night lighting and a possible devaluing of their land. Attempts to gain constructive information about these issues from the company are usually met with obstinate denials about the problems a wind development may cause. Unfortunately, proponents have been unable to support these denials with any valid guarantee.

Here are some of the concerns about the Stockyard Hill Wind Farm:

Visual Amenity
Many residents in the area enjoy magnificent views of the western plains – rolling hills, stony rises, lakes, wetlands, ancient volcanic cones, and views of the spectacular Pyrenees mountains.  One of the greatest benefits of living in a rural area is the peace and serenity that such views afford. Four years of construction, resulting in an industrialised landscape of 282 turbines towering 132 metres in the air is precisely the sort of development that locals sought to escape in choosing a rural lifestyle.

Community Call for a Public Meeting
Wind Power have refused requests from the WPLGA, the Pyrenees Shire and effected neighbours for public presentations about their proposed wind development in the towns of Beaufort and Skipton. A public meeting is long overdue and critical so that all the community has all the information about the development. The community is generally confused on details about the project and has a right to proper presentation from Wind Power and a chance to ask questions in a public forum.

Property Values
A number of residents who have lived next to wind farms claim that their properties have been devalued (up to 40%) and cite decreases in their rate notices, and lower than expected sales figures. This has been widely reported in the media for the Toora Wind Farm, where Stanwell Corporation (the wind farm operator) purchased three properties and demolished at least one house. Some residents claim that they had difficult finding a buyer or could not find a buyer.

There has not been any independent and definitive study regarding property values.  It is generally agreed that agricultural land is not devalued. Some real estate valuers believe that residential properties can be devalued depending on such factors as proximity to wind turbines, turbines in the line of sight, and the aesthetic/lifestyle value of the property. One thing is certain, the development is likely to result in a decline in the number of would-be purchasers attracted to the area, meaning many locals are confronting the prospect of significant financial loss.

Decommissioning
Wind Turbines usually function for 20 to 25 years. When they breakdown the wind developer/operator is required to replace or remove the turbines. However, experience in the USA shows that wind developments can be abandoned when they are no longer sustainable with no repercussions for the developer. While it is impossible to predict what will happen in Australia or with the Stockyard Hill Wind Farm in 20 years, two things are clear: removal of a turbine is very costly (900,000 euros for a 3 megawatt turbine according to a French company Sainte-Pierre SAS) and landholders are ultimately responsible for their removal. This latter point was clarified in Planning Permit Conditions for the Waubra Wind Farm which say that within 12 months of any wind turbine ceasing to generate electricity, the “facility operator, or in the absence of the operator, the owner of the land in which the relevant generator is located” must undertake to remove all non-operational equipment, clean up and restore all storage, construction, roads and other areas, including the provision of soil cover and grassing across the wind generator site. Whilst other industries have decommissioning bonds to ensure infrastructure removal; wind developments do not.

Fire
Fire is one of the risks experienced at wind developments around the world and in Australia. According the Country Fire Authority, the risk of fire with wind turbines “can be associated with malfunctioning turbine bearings, inadequate crankcases lubrication, cable damage during rotation, electrical shorting or arcing occurring in transmission and distribution facilities.”  Lightening strikes and workers at wind developments have also been known to cause fires. Turbine fires are difficult to put out as the nacelle (motor) contains 400 litres of oil and is located 80-100 metres off the ground.  Without the availability of special aircraft, the fire has to burn itself out, while fire fighters put out spot fires around the base of the turbine. Reports from the Lake Bonney Wind Farm fire in South Australia describe fire fighters being showered with aluminium, oil and fibreglass up to 400 metres away while they tried to extinguish grassfires – presumably because the automatic shutdown failed and the turbine rotors kept running. Total fire ban days, high winds and proximity to bushland or plantations can increase the risk of a fire spreading.

There is also evidence from overseas that landowners may have difficulty obtaining satisfactory fire insurance because of their proximity to wind developments and the consequent fire risk.

Noise
Turbine noise is another very complicated issue. Measuring and predicting the noise of a wind development in a particular area has to take into account many different factors and the industry is still working on better ways to do this. While turbine noise may be considered low to the ear (i.e., you can hold a conversation under a turbine), the low frequency noise can be detected at least 5 kilometres away in some circumstances. Many have complained that the noise is annoying while others believe it to be a health risk. Low frequency noise can be experienced as a vibration and the sound is often described as a ‘thumping’ or a ‘whooshing’ noise; or repetitive pulse.  Problems are often worse at night and the industry has tended to underestimate night time noise,  primarily because they use day time wind profiles (G.P. van den Berg, Effects of the wind profile at night on wind turbine Sound, Journal of Sound and Vibration 277, 2004).

Please see the section on Health for more detailed information about health problems that can result from exposure to turbine noise.