February 9, 2021
by Bob Ciesielski, Chair, Atlantic Chapter Energy Committee
Our state and our nation are now linked in a common goal to forcefully struggle against climate change. Full electrification through renewable energy of all sectors — electric, transportation, heating and cooling of our buildings, and industry — will do much to counter global warming. The switch to renewables and energy efficiency will also improve public health and the environment. Fortunately, this growth in renewable energy is an economic antidote to the dire economic situation we find ourselves in due to the pandemic. Our own Governor Cuomo mentioned these points in his State of the State address this year. Below are observations on the benefits — and myths — of wind and solar power.
BENEFITS
Emissions: In 2020, Germany’s renewable energy sources met over 46% of its power consumption. The country also achieved its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, by over 40% below 1990 levels. These formidable successes contradict false claims that wind energy results in more carbon dioxide than does the burning of coal. While the US boasts that carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced over the last several years, the much more potent methane emissions from the production of fracked gas has greatly increased in our country.
Fossil Fuel Particulates: Public health studies have demonstrated the danger of micro-sized particles from fossil fuel combustion that cause respiratory problems, heart problems and cancer. Research models show the health benefits of substituting renewable energy for fossil fuels would be greatest in the Great Lakes and Northeast.
Economics: The economic benefit potential from wind turbines and solar panel projects is astounding. Prevailing wages for construction, operational and maintenance jobs on renewable projects in New York State are guaranteed by law.
Renewable energy projects have already resulted in thousands of jobs in New York. The state’s plan to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity near Long Island has resulted in the announcement of a turbine-manufacturing center in Albany, a staging hub at the Port of Brooklyn, improvements at other ports, and a training center for wind and renewable heat and cooling specialists at schools in Stony Brook and Farmingdale.
Community Benefits
- Lewis County in Northern New York near Lake Ontario has accepted wind and solar power projects as the path to job growth and decreased taxes. Taxes and agreements from three existing wind turbine projects have funded its community college, courthouse and a new 911 telephone system.
- The town of Sheldon in Western New York uses payments in lieu of taxes and income from wind turbines to exempt property owners from paying property taxes.
- The new Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act establishes an array of additional economic benefits, including the possibility of reduced energy bills for residents in host communities and the ability of communities to negotiate with developers for desired funding of projects.
Farming and Agriculture: Lease payments from wind turbine and solar developers are “cash crops” that permit farmers to maintain their agriculture operations. Land near turbines can be cultivated or grazed right up to the towers. Sheep and bees thrive near solar arrays. The Department of Agriculture and Markets requires that cables be buried to permit undisturbed plowing. Funds or bonds to insure the removal of turbines or arrays are mandated by the state.
MYTHS
Wind Turbine Noise: The World Health Organization has determined that wind turbine sound should not optimally exceed an average of 45 decibels (dBa). New York State adopted regulations for its new Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) to limit turbine sound to no more than 45 dBa for an average 8-hour period outside non-participating structures, and 40 dBa on average at night outside non-participating structures. Acoustics experts also note that outside sounds are automatically reduced by 15 dBa indoors, which reduces the loudest indoor noise to a very quiet 25 to 30 dBa level for non-participating structures.
Concerning the question of infrasound produced by wind turbines, the noise is several orders of magnitude less than what can be detected by the human ear.
Several large studies of randomly selected people have shown that wind turbines do not create stress or sleep disturbance, nor do they affect blood pressure. A study in Denmark included 717,000 participants.
Birds: The Office of Renewable Siting maintains strict requirements to protect birds, including meeting US Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines, the Endangered Species Act, and all federal and state statutes and regulations. Cats, buildings and the fossil fuel industry are more dangerous to birds than wind turbines. Studies show that the fossil fuel industry is more of a threat to birds per unit of electricity produced than wind turbines. Prior to construction of a wind farm, developers study bird migration, nesting patterns and the use of local habitat for more than a year before proposing the siting of individual turbines. At least twelve types of cameras and radar that detect the presence of birds and bats are available for wind power developments to allow turbines to be slowed or halted.
Shadow Flicker Effect: ORES regulations require that a shadow flicker will not fall on any portion of a residential structure for more than 25 hours per year.
Wind Turbine Syndrome: Professor Simon Chapman of Australia has written a book, Wind Turbine Syndrome: A Communicated Disease. Professor Chapman has toured Europe, including northern Germany and Denmark, which have an especially high density of wind turbines. Residents in these areas are not even aware of the term Wind Turbine Syndrome or illnesses falsely attributed to turbines. His book discusses how new technologies often spur fears of health effects, including the introduction of electricity and telephones.
People are susceptible to negative influence by repeated suggestion, a tactic often used in the United States to spread false information to oppose turbines and other renewable energy projects. Professor Chapman describes the alleged disease Wind Turbine Syndrome as an “English speaking disease” and states that critical wind turbine-related health cases have not been reported or substantiated in peer-reviewed journals. In some cases, people with pre-existing conditions transfer their complaints to turbines, often constructed after the onset of their illness.
Summary: New York’s call for 70% of its energy to be produced by renewable energy sources by 2030 is an enormous economic boon to our state, while mitigating climate change and aiding the health of its citizens. We ask our members to support local wind and solar development for the benefit of their communities and the climate.