Like just about everyone else, I have been thinking that T Boone Pickens idea of setting up wind farms up and down the middle of the country is a great idea. It not only will provide a clean new energy source, it will also create a new environmentally friendly industry.

Of course, I live on the east coast. They won’t be in my back yard (unless New York City mayor Bloomberg gets his way and puts them throughout New York… but that’s another post). My point is, does anybody live in this area. I know it’s an expansive, wide open farm belt, but his plan looks like many of these turbines will be near populated areas.

How bad can it be living near a wind turbine? These people are about 3/4 mile from a wind farm.

When we first drove into their yard, our initial impression was that their one kilometer setback distance should be fine. However, their problems began within weeks after the turbines started operating. When they were downwind from the turbines, and the air was moving just enough to turn them (12-15 knots from the northeast), the noise was loud. It was a repetitive modulated drone of sound. Dwayne and Kevin both claimed it sometimes was loud enough to rattle the windows of their homes. The sound was even worse in the field behind their homes. Distances from 1 to 1.5 kilometers were the areas of the most annoying sounds. This spring the winds created constant misery.

You can read the entire post here posted July 28, 2007.

I’ve searched Google for just how loud these things are and have got various answers. Seems the manufactures have provided many technical reports and never really give you an answer. Lot of crap dealing with speeds, the terrain, and a ton of other mumbo jumbo. These anecdotal reports are everywhere though.

Which brings me back to Mike Bloomberg yesterday saying he wants to put wind turbines on the tops of buildings and bridges. I suppose it will help drown out all the traffic noise in the city.