Those shiny things on the right are wind turbines!
A lot of people have raised concerns about disruptions created by wind turbines. Looking around online at some of the problems people are experiencing, particularly homeowners, I certainly sympathize with their situations.
I think it makes all kinds of sense to generate as much power as we can through wind and solar. They are clean sources of electricity, and we’ve barely begun to tap the sun’s capacity. But we do have to put them in the right location, and that’s not right next to someone’s home. When turbines need maintenance, they start making noise (particularly older models, I’m told). I’d heard about noise issues before, but I hadn’t thought about how turbines interact with the sun. If you have spinning blades between you and the sun, guess what? You’ll get a strobe effect of light-dark-light-dark, as shown here.
The new Ontario Green Energy Act calls for a 550 metre setback between wind turbines and homes. When I first heard about the setback, I thought that perhaps traditional energy was influencing our ability to make good use of renewable energy. But now I see that, to make good neighbours, turbines should be situated properly. Nobody wants an annoying neighbour.
How do you see renewable energy fitting in with your landscape?
