Lawrence Gallagher farms more than just crops

Photo © 2012 The 7PM Company Pty Ltd

With a government aim to have 20 per cent of the nation’s energy generated by renewable sources by 2020, wind farms have shaped up as the leading provider of green power.

As in many other countries, the iconic turbines have started to dot the hills and coastlines of Australia, bringing employment to regional areas and providing many farmers with a welcome alternative source of income.

But the mushrooming wind farms have been accompanied by complaints from neighbours that they also generate adverse health effects, including headaches, nausea, anxiety, and sleeplessness.

The low-frequency hum generated by the wind farms has been blamed for causing these health complaints.

Then again, last year the British Acoustics Bulletin published a review of the evidence on wind farms causing annoyance and ill health.

That study claimed that complaints were more likely related to social and psychological factors of the complainants, than any measurable effect of sound generated by the turbines.

It’s difficult to doubt the genuine distress experienced by many of those who live near wind farms. So what, then, is causing it?