Wind turbines and infrasound

Unfortunately, the attitude of the wind industry and its representatives – such as the Australian Wind Alliance – towards the people affected by wind farms is completely callous. At a recent Senate hearing, one wind farm manager attempted to table a cartoon that lampooned their claims and suggested senators colour it in.

Others told us that residents living near wind farms who wake in the middle of the night, with excruciating pressure in their heads, should receive counselling – suggesting they have a psychological problem, not a physiological one.

Big Wind’s attitude derives from a sense of smug untouchability. Because the science is still not fully understood, it can be rejected. Because they are part of the renewable energy sector, they are beyond reproach.  And they have contact books full of journalists who will join them in the name-calling, despite few ever spending a night within whirring distance of a wind turbine.

Giving evidence, wind farm operators even denied owing a duty of care to nearby residents so long as they comply with what are clearly deficient regulations.  This reminds me of Big Tobacco’s denials fifty years ago that cigarettes cause lung cancer.

By the time further studies are published in recognised journals following peer review, many more people will have suffered. The fact that we are not yet at that stage is no excuse for inaction and will not absolve the wind industry from liability in negligence for its refusal to mitigate the harm it causes.

Facing up to the consequences of its actions will not put the wind industry out of business. That will only occur if governments stop providing subsidies. The solution may be as simple as preventing turbines operating in synchronisation, which some believe causes amplification of infrasound, or requiring greater distances between turbines and residences.

Whatever emerges from the inquiry, it’s clear government and industry indifference towards people suffering because of their proximity to wind turbines needs to end. Like doctors, governments should at least do no harm.