Testimonies

The experience of those living near wind turbines

Mark Taplin, who has lived close to a wind farm near Truro in Cornwall for almost a decade said, "It has been a miserable, horrible experience. They are 440 metres away, but if I step outside and they are not generating I know immediately as I hear the silence. They grind you down; you can't get away from them. They make you depressed — the chomp and swoosh of the blades creates a noise that beggars belief".

"One survey found that all but 1 of 14 people living near the Bears Down wind farm at Padstow, Cornwall, where 16 turbines were put up two years ago, had experienced increased numbers of headaches and 10 said they had problems sleeping and suffered from anxiety". Dr Amanda Harry, a local GP who did the research, continued to say, "People demonstrated a range of symptoms from headaches, migraines, nausea, dizziness, palpitations and tinnitus to sleep disturbance, stress, anxiety and depression. These symptoms had a knock on effect on their daily lives causing poor concentration, irritability and an inability to cope".

Dr Stephen Briggs, an archaeologist who lives in a village in West Wales, initially welcomed the news that 20 turbines were to be built in the hills behind his home. He said, "I'm as green as the next man and the developers assured us that the windmills would cause hardly any disturbance, but as soon as they began operating I could not work in my garden anymore—the noise was unbearable. It was as if someone was mixing cement in the sky".

A video concerning the effect of a wind farm on residents at Meyersdale, Pensylvania