Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.
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 Click logo for FAST FACTS on wind farms from National Wind Watch
Q. Are wind turbines noisy?
A. Power companies may claim their turbines are quieter but they can't claim they are actually quiet!
Large industrial scale wind turbines generate a deep unnatural thumping sound as the blades pass by the tower.
This noise is impossible to get used to as it is multi-directional and intermittent. It can also continue 24 hours a
day (and night). The disruption to sleep patterns presents a very serious threat to human health.
People at the nearby wind farms at Deeping St. Nicholas and Bicker are already experiencing some of these
problems. Some have even been forced to leave their homes!
An increase in noise of 10 decibels (dB) is considered a doubling of perceived noise level. A quiet night in the
countryside would typically be around 25 dB. It is common for wind farm developers to claim 45 dB at the
nearest home. This would actually be heard as being 4 times louder than normal.
In France, the National Acadamy of Medicine has called for a halt to all large scale wind developments within
1.5KM of any residence, because the sounds emitted from the blades constitute a permanent risk for people
exposed to them. The Noise Association in the UK studied this issue and agreed to recommend a 1 mile gap
(1.6KM). Most of the turbines Proposed by E.On would be closer than these limits.
Officials cover up wind farm noise report (The Sunday Times, 13th December 2009)
Q. What happens in a blackout?
A. A wind turbine needs power from the grid to work. If there is a blackout, the turbine stops working!
Q. Why are wind turbines still even when its windy?
A. They only cut in when the wind speed reaches 7-9mph. They are most efficient between 25-35mph.
How often do we get wind speeds over 25mph?
If wind speed drops by half, output drops by a factor of eight.
Q. Are wind farms better than conventional power stations?
A. Wind turbines only produce power when it is windy. The national grid however, needs to provide power
when there is a demand from consumers. It may not be windy, or windy enough, when consumers need the
power. Therefore wind farms do not contribute to meeting demand. They cannot replace other sources of power
because they are simply not reliable enough. The Royal Acadamy of Engineering estimates that in order to
reduce conventional power sources by 4,000 MW, you would need to build 25,000 MW of wind farms.
That would be over 8,300 turbines like those proposed for Billingborough & Horbling!
Another way of looking at it is to ask how much back up power supply do you need for wind generated electricity?
According to E.On Netz in Germany, for every 10MW of wind power added to the system, you need to add an
additional 8MW of conventional power supply (80% backup). So, based on these figures, the 51MW E.On site at
Billingborough & Horbling, would need a 41MW conventional power station to be built to back it up and avoid
blackouts.
Q. How much CO2 does wind power save?
A. There is no evidence that wind power saves carbon dioxide emissions at all. In fact, when the grid is able
to take power from wind farms, it tends to reduce hydro power which is already CO2 free. Conventional power
stations, if reduced at all, may simply be turned down meaning they are still generating CO2. In fact,
constantly changing the output of conventional sources makes them run less efficiently and generate more CO2
than they otherwise would.
Q. Wind power is free power isn't it?
A. Wind might be free but wind power most definately is not.
If wind farms were not subsidised by the taxpayer, in other words YOU, then it would not be economical for the
power companies to build them. Quite apart from the cost of building the turbines, there is the cost of electricity
pylons, roads to build and service the sites and ongoing maintenance. There is also the cost of backup power
from conventional power stations. All this for a power source that may actually add to C02 emissions.
Q. Will it affect house prices?
A. Property values, for those living near to wind farms, typically fall by 15% per year for 2 years and then
level off. There is no compensation. Falling property values cannot be considered when deciding whether or
not a wind farm application can go ahead.
Q. How much does a wind turbine weigh?
A. A 2MW turbine (excluding the concrete base) can weigh over 330 tons. The proposed E.On turbines at
Billingborough & Horbling are 3MW.
Q. How big is the base?
A. Over 1,000 tons of concrete is needed for the base of each turbine. So that's over 17,000 tons of concrete
poured into Billingborough & Horbling Fens. Each base can be 30-50 feet across and 6-30 feet deep.
Possibly even deeper to help stabilise the huge towers.
Three picture sequence taken from google earth. The first picture, is Billingborough church with a 3d computer generated turbine on it (125m height to rotor tips) the second two pictures are the foundations of one of the Turbines at bicker (which fortunatly were being built when the satellite photograph was taken) being superimposed onto the Church picture.
Thus the foundations (in surface area) are bigger than Billingborough church. It isn't possible to estimate the depth.
The Bicker foundations are for 100m high Turbines (to rotor tips) generating 2mw, not the larger, possibly 3mw turbines being proposed for Billingborough & Horbling.
Q. How fast do the blades spin?
A. 10mph? 20mph? The blades on large turbines appear to move slowly but the tips are in fact travelling at
150-200mph!
Q. Do they affect wildlife?
A. In America a study of one wind farm with 120 turbines, estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 birds and
bats were killed just during the 5 month study.
Another investigation found that bats were being killed by the increased air pressure causing their lungs to
explode.
"Vulture gets hit by turbine blade"
Q. Do the blades ever come off?
A. Oh yes (see link to videos below). It has been estimated that 1 blade will come off for every 100 turbines.
How many turbines have been proposed for Lincolnshire?
"Wind Turbine Explodes"
"Windmill/Wind Turbine Explosion"
Q. How much space do you need for each wind turbine?
A. It depends on the size of the blades. Each turbine requires 10 rotor diameters in front (the wind direction)
and 3 rotor diameters in every other direction. Each turbine at the proposed Billingborough & Horbling wind farm
would require 78 acres. That's each turbine!
Q. Can Television or mobile phone reception be affected?
A. Wind turbines can interfere with telecommunications signals including TV and radio, mainly by the
multi-path effect, where there is corruption or distortion of the received signal by the secondary signal.
Uniquely with wind turbines this may 'chop' the signal causing variable 'ghosting' or 'jittering' on the TV picture.
The effects of wind power fall into two main categories: effects on broadcast television and effects on fixed
radio links, mostly at microwave frequencies. Wind turbine effects on television reception are generally found
where the TV is situated between a wind farm and the TV transmitter. Modern composite blades have less effect
than older metal rotors but embedded lightning conductor strips may negate the advantage.
Q. What about low flying aircraft?
A. "Aviation and radar issues have long been a major source of complaint for the wind industry. This is because
wind turbines can interfere with radar systems and be a collision risk for low-flying aircraft. These concerns have
resulted in a significant number of planning objections, particularly from the Ministry of Defence" (SDC 2005).
The main effect of wind turbines on air-traffic control radar is due to the rotation of the blades. The radar may
'illuminate' one turbine on one sweep, then a different one on the next sweep, producing shifting radar returns
sometimes referred to as 'twinkling' on the radar screen. Usually this only occurs when the wind development
is within line of sight of the radar. A planning objection is likely for any wind energy project within 67 km
(37 nm) on such a line from air-traffic radar. Ground-based air-defence radar installations may lodge similar
line of sight objections.
Interference with radar and remote sensing is not the only problem for military aircraft. Wind generators are
now reaching 140m (500 feet) above ground level. This is not high compared to the normal flying height of most
aircraft but for some it is. The military practise low flying for operational reasons (ground support and flying
"under the radar"). Standard heights are 250 or 300 feet (Civil aircraft typically operate at 1000 feet around
aerodromes except for approach and departure).
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