There are three points that I know why people are really bothered by the wind mills:
1. horizon pollution: This may not be bothering everybody, but I personally think that preserving a beautiful
horizon is very important. IMHO, windmills sticking out into the sky everywhere you look doesn't make a landscape
any more beautiful. The region of my hometown certainly lost attractivity for tourists due to the windmills and I know that properties and houses lost a lot of value because of the windmills.
2. high frequency sound: windmills produce a high frequency sound. You won't hear this sound during day, but when you lie in bed at night and have your windows open in warm summer nights and everything is silent, you might hear this sound. The frequency is so high that not everybody is hearing it, but I know a lot of people who can hear it and have a real problem to sleep with this sound.
3. disco effect: Many people that live close to windmills have a so-called disco-effect in their houses. Disco-effect means that you have the shadows of the rotating rotor blades in your house, which looks like the light effects in some discotheque or techno club. This is also very annoying.
The second and third point only apply if you have a windmill less than a mile close to you. Since the minimum
distance by law between a house and a windmill is only 300 meters (at least in my hometown), there are quite many
people there that have a windmill within 1 mile of them.
The people in my hometown began to take actions against new windmills and there hasn't been a permit during the last 5 years. But the ones that have been built before will be there for a very long time and bother them with the effects described above.
As I said before, renewable energy is great, but I can understand quite well why people don't want them close to their houses. There are enough possibilities to build them where they don't bother anybody.
Re:NL horizon pollution
on
A Mighty Wind
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
My hometown is in the northwest of Germany (Emsland) and about half an hour drive from NL. The landscape is very similar to the Netherlands and therefore quite attratctive for windfarms.
About 15 years ago when the first windmills were being built nobody objected them and it was no problem to get a permit. So many farmers sold a bit of their land to some investor and windmills were built everywhere.
What we have now in my hometown is probably the perfect example for 'horizon pollution'. Anywhere you look, you see windmills.
Believe me, you really don't want this in your neighbourhood anymore than a nuclear power plant!!!
I think wind power is a great idea since it is a renewable technology. But wind farms shouldn't be built anywhere close to where people live. There is enough space in Germany (which is quite crowded!) to build wind farms where they don't bother anyone so I think it is possible in any country to find such places.
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There are three points that I know why people are really bothered by the wind mills:
1. horizon pollution: This may not be bothering everybody, but I personally think that preserving a beautiful horizon is very important. IMHO, windmills sticking out into the sky everywhere you look doesn't make a landscape any more beautiful. The region of my hometown certainly lost attractivity for tourists due to the windmills and I know that properties and houses lost a lot of value because of the windmills.
2. high frequency sound: windmills produce a high frequency sound. You won't hear this sound during day, but when you lie in bed at night and have your windows open in warm summer nights and everything is silent, you might hear this sound. The frequency is so high that not everybody is hearing it, but I know a lot of people who can hear it and have a real problem to sleep with this sound.
3. disco effect: Many people that live close to windmills have a so-called disco-effect in their houses. Disco-effect means that you have the shadows of the rotating rotor blades in your house, which looks like the light effects in some discotheque or techno club. This is also very annoying.
The second and third point only apply if you have a windmill less than a mile close to you. Since the minimum distance by law between a house and a windmill is only 300 meters (at least in my hometown), there are quite many people there that have a windmill within 1 mile of them.
The people in my hometown began to take actions against new windmills and there hasn't been a permit during the last 5 years. But the ones that have been built before will be there for a very long time and bother them with the effects described above.
As I said before, renewable energy is great, but I can understand quite well why people don't want them close to their houses. There are enough possibilities to build them where they don't bother anybody.
My hometown is in the northwest of Germany (Emsland) and about half an hour drive from NL. The landscape is very similar to the Netherlands and therefore quite attratctive for windfarms.
About 15 years ago when the first windmills were being built nobody objected them and it was no problem to get a permit. So many farmers sold a bit of their land to some investor and windmills were built everywhere.
What we have now in my hometown is probably the perfect example for 'horizon pollution'. Anywhere you look, you see windmills.
Believe me, you really don't want this in your neighbourhood anymore than a nuclear power plant!!!
I think wind power is a great idea since it is a renewable technology. But wind farms shouldn't be built anywhere close to where people live. There is enough space in Germany (which is quite crowded!) to build wind farms where they don't bother anyone so I think it is possible in any country to find such places.
Off-Shore platforms are a great idea and are possible, even in tough environments as this article shows: Off-Shore platforms in the Baltic Sea
Tidal power plants are also an interisting renewable energy source.