Regional Planning Director Norm Sims pointed out that studies of sales before and after wind farm development in the U.S. showed they had no statistically significant effect on surrounding property values. In some areas, positive attitudes about wind power caused property values to go up. The Planning Commission compiled information on this issue for a more thorough report to the county board.
The remaining menagerie of fears ranged from the inconvenient prospect of forcing crop dusters to coordinate their schedule with wind farm operators (the operator is offering to turn off turbines for crop dusting) to the specter of "shadow flicker." This refers to the terror of moving shadows being cast by a turbine if someone is unable to close their blinds for a few hours of the day during certain times of the year.
A myth v. fact paper by the American Wind Energy Association offers an explanation with less sarcasm than my blog.
For some who have homes close to wind turbines, shadow flicker can occur under certain circumstances and can be annoying when trying to read or watch television. However, the effect can be precisely calculated to determine whether a flickering shadow will fall on a given location near a wind farm, and how many hours in a year it will do so. Potential problems can be easily identified using these methods, and solutions range from providing an appropriate setback from the turbines to planting trees to disrupt the effect.
People are also concerned about noise. I visited someone who lived less than a mile from the wind farm in McLean county. They didn't mind being close and I thought the steady turning of the blades was relaxing. I couldn't hear the turbines on a very windy day but the loud clanging of a snap hook the wind was knocking against their flag pole was getting on my nerves.
(Gob nob turbine near Farmersville)
When I visited the gob nob turbine in Farmersville I thought it was pretty loud. Then I realized it was just the frogs croaking. I couldn't hear the turbine on a windy day until I was standing directly under it.
The Planning Commission put together another report on health impacts from wind turbine sound. Additionally, you can check out their summary of setback requirements, which are stricter than many other areas. They also spoke of measures to prevent bird kills, which is an important issue when siting wind farms.
The planning professionals are doing their part to clear up misconceptions and provide unbiased information. It's up to the public to let county board members know that there's support for this project.
Besides, it's what Lincoln would have wanted.
"Of all the forces of nature, I should think the wind contains the largest amount of motive power—that is, power to move things. Take any given space of the earth’s surface—for instance, Illinois—; and all the power exerted by all the men, and beasts, and running-water, and steam, over and upon it, shall not equal the one hundredth part of what is exerted by the blowing of the wind over and upon the same space. ...As yet, the wind is an untamed, and unharnessed force; and quite possibly one of the greatest discoveries hereafter to be made, will be the taming, and harnessing of the wind."
- Abraham Lincoln, 1858