Motion Sickness and Headache

On Feb. 12, 2012, Steve Ambrose and Robert Rand, the authors of the McPherson Report on acoustical effects of commercial wind turbines in and around homes took part in an internet radio interview.
 

Ambrose emphasized that prior to doing the research for this report, he was careful to avoid reading any articles or accounts of what people say they have experienced physically when wind turbines are in their area because he wanted to go into the study as objectively as possible. He and Rand fully expected to enter the house where they were to carry out the study, set up their instruments, stay several weeks and collect data, then leave and analyze and write up what their findings were. But within 20 minutes, while setting up their instruments, they both - separately - noticed odd feelings and had a hard time concentrating and making simple decisions that normally come as second nature since they have done acoustics studies for so many years. Both men experienced headaches and a feeling they likened to motion sickness. They noted that while the symptoms came on quite fast, it took several weeks to fully recover from them. 

Quoting Rand: "What we experienced was not anectdotal. We had severe physical effects.... We have as much experience and knowledge of acquiring acoustical data as anyone in the world. It would take a medical professional to be able to do the measurements in the ear and in the brain and report on those."  He and Ambrose mentioned Dr. Alec Salt, who co-wrote a paper for the Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society (2011) titled "Infrasound From Wind Turbines Could Affect Humans."  Dr. Salt is a leading expert on how the ear receives and processes the various levels of sound. His report from a physiological basis coupled with the McPherson Report by Rand and Ambrose from the acoustical measurement standpoint make for a very compelling and powerful case about the dangers wind turbines pose to public safety. This blog's January 26th post features an illustration from Dr. Salt's report on how the human ear processes infrasound from wind turbines and the resulting symptoms.

They caution anyone responsible for siting and distance guidelines for wind turbines to confirm models with real world measurements taken in an area with similar winds and similar topography and population density to that where a project is proposed. In most cases, even 1500 feet is too close to a home or work place.

High Price: Expected Capacity does not equal Actual Production

Wind and Solar Power Production

Though wind and solar energy have received enormous government subsidies for years, each remains relatively insignificant in terms of its contribution to aggregate energy production.  The low market share of these forms of energy speaks to the fact that the necessary technology for efficient implementation does not yet exist, and that advocates are essentially swimming against the market current, says Benjamin Zycher, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

• Renewable electricity generation from all nonhydroelectric sources was only 3.6 percent of total U.S. generation in 2010.
• Despite this small energy share, nonhydroelectric production received 53.5 percent of all federal financial support for the electric power.
• Wind power alone, providing 2.3 percent of generation, received 42 percent of such support.

Wind and solar renewable energy have failed to take off despite government support because they face substantial market impediments.  First, their energy production is relatively concentrated and requires as a result large amounts of land per unit of energy.

• A wind farm with a theoretical generation capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW) and a generous generation capacity of 35 percent would require 144,000-192,000 acres.
• The land requirement problem for solar thermal facilities is of sufficient importance because most analyses assume a maximum generation capacity of 50-100 MW, which, conservatively, would require approximately 1,250 acres.
• In contrast, a 1,000 MW gas-fired plant requires about 10-15 acres; conventional coal, natural gas, and nuclear plants have capacity factors of 85-90 percent.

Source: Benjamin Zycher, "Wind and Solar Power, Part I: Uncooperative Reality," American Enterprise Institute January 17, 2012.

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