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Talking about Wind
CanWEA recognizes the importance of answering questions with respect to wind energy. As an industry, our mandate is to promote the responsible and sustainable growth of wind energy in Canada.
Please find below a resource collection of peer-reviewed studies, reports, statements, and published articles related to wind turbines and sound. This library will be updated regularly as new information is made available.
WindFacts: Answering Your Questions about Wind Energy
The WindFacts website contains facts and resources that address a number of areas of key interest to Canadians: how wind works, health, community, affordability and environment and wildlife. It is initiative of wind energy industry leaders whose goal is to ensure Canadians have access to fact-based answers to their questions in order to make informed decisions about our energy future.
We encourage you to review the fact based website and if you have any questions, please visit the questions page.
The secret is out. Wind is in.
CanWEA's new brochure The Secret is Out. Wind is In. provides up-to-date factual information and resources to the most commonly asked questions about wind energy.
Opinion Survey about wind energy in Quebec
February 2012
CanWEA recently commissioned Léger Marketing to conduct a poll in Quebec to evaluate the public's opinions with respect to wind energy development in the province. The poll was conducted online January 30th to February 1st, 2012. A total of 1001 Quebec residents 18 years of age or older were surveyed.
 Download the survey here (available in French only)
Ontarians say wind energy is one of the safest forms of electricity generation, new poll finds
March 2012
A recent Oracle Research poll commissioned by the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) found that 78 per cent of Ontarians say wind energy is one of the safest forms of electricity generation. The poll was conducted between February 22-29, 2012 and has a margin for error of +/- 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Download the poll here
Wind by the Numbers: Economic Benefits of Wind Energy
Wind energy is generating affordable, clean electricity while creating new jobs and economic development opportunities in communities across the country. Here are some of the economic benefits being realized today – and opportunities for tomorrow.
Click here to download the fact sheet
GHG Reductions from Enhanced Electrification of Potential New Industrial Demand in British Columbia
Prepared for the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) by the Pembina Institute
Wind energy is well positioned to limit huge increases in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) that would result from powering new industrial developments with fossil fuels, according to a new report by the Pembina Institute. The report, GHG Reductions from Enhanced Electrification of Potential New Industrial Demand in British Columbia, determines the potential GHG reductions that would result from fully electrifying new industrial developments in the province with clean and renewable grid-based electricity.
Read the full report here
The Economic Impacts of the Wind Energy Sector in Ontario 2011-2018
Conducted by ClearSky Advisors, and commissioned by the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) , it is the most comprehensive study ever undertaken on the economic impacts of the wind energy industry in the province.
Wind energy developments in Ontario will create more than 80,000 person years of employment and attract more than $16 billion in private sector investments in the next eight years, according to the most comprehensive study ever undertaken on the economic impacts of the wind energy industry in the province.
 Download the full report here
The Pembina Institute: Behind the switch: pricing Ontario electricity options
A major new report released by the Pembina Institute examines how scaling back Ontario's plans to develop renewable energy would affect electricity prices.
Behind the switch: pricing Ontario electricity options finds that Ontario consumers would see virtually no relief from high electricity prices if the province cancelled its support for renewable energy under the Green Energy Act. In fact, the study indicates that investing in renewable energy today is likely to save Ontario ratepayers money within the next 15 years, as natural gas becomes more expensive and as the cost of renewable energy technology continues to decrease.
News Release: http://www.pembina.org/media-release/2237
Report: Download the full report.
Wind. For My Community
This new brochure outlines the significant economic benefits of real wind projects in communities across Ontario, as well as positive testimonials from mayors and landowners.
Click image below to download PDF.
Winning the green energy race videos
Vestas offers a series of videos to help you explore topics relating to wind energy from public policies, the cost of energy, electricity systems, public acceptance and offshore wind.
IPSOS Reid survey shows strong support for wind energy in Ontario
July 2010
The Canadian Wind Energy Association recently commissioned the research firm Ipsos Reid to conduct a poll to gain insight into Ontario residents’ views on wind energy. The poll surveyed 1,361 citizens from five different regions in the province between June 25-30, 2010. The survey shows that the vast majority of Ontarians support wind energy because of its environmental and economic benefits.
The detailed survey results can be viewed here.
Click here to view CanWEA's news release.
Pricing
Customer Bill Impacts of Generation Sources in Ontario
In the last few years, wind generation has contributed an increasing proportion of the total supply of electricity in Ontario. This increase has occurred in accordance with the policy of the Ontario government to encourage more use of renewable resources for electricity generation, as Ontario moves ahead with its plans to be coal-free by 2014.
CanWEA commissioned Power Advisory LLC to evaluate and better understand the impact of increased amounts of wind generation on Ontario electricity customers’ bills.
Download the full report here
Health
Summary of main conclusions reached in 17 reviews of the research literature on wind farms and health Compiled by Prof Simon Chapman, School of Public Health and Teresa Simonetti, Sydney University Medical School
Download summary here.
Wind Turbine Health Impact Study: Report of Independent Expert Panel
Prepared for: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
January 2012
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) convened a panel of independent experts to identify any documented or potential health impacts of risks that may be associated with exposure to wind turbines, and, specifically, to facilitate discussion of wind turbines and public health based on scientific findings.
Download the full report
Health Effects and Wind Turbines: A Review of the Literature. Environmental Health
On September 14, 2011, Drs. Loren Knopper and Christopher Ollson of Intrinsik Environmental Sciences published the following peer-reviewed scientific article in the journal Environmental Health:
Knopper, L.D. and Ollson, C.A. 2011. Health Effects and Wind Turbines: A Review of the Literature. Environmental Health, 10:78. The article can be viewed here:
http://www.ehjournal.net/content/10/1/78
Since publication, the article is already listed as one of the most viewed and most forwarded.
Chris and Loren will be giving an invited talk "Wind Turbines and Human Health" at the upcoming CanWEA Annual Conference in Vancouver on October 3rd and will be available to discuss their findings.
Briefly, the purpose of the paper was to review the peer-reviewed scientific literature, government agency reports, and the most prominent information found in the popular literature in terms of wind turbines and human health. The authors found that conclusions of the peer reviewed literature differed in some ways from those in the popular literature. In peer reviewed studies, wind turbine annoyance has been statistically associated with wind turbine noise, but found to be more strongly related to visual impact, attitude to wind turbines and sensitivity to noise.
To date, no peer reviewed articles demonstrate a direct causal link between people living in proximity to modern wind turbines, the noise they emit and resulting physiological health effects. If anything, reported health effects are likely attributed to a number of environmental stressors that result in an annoyed/stressed state in a segment of the population.
Ontario's Chief Medical Officer Of Health Says There Is No Direct Causal Link Between Wind Turbines And Adverse Health Effects
Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects: An Expert Panel
An international panel of experts jointly established by CanWEA and AWEA has released a report based on a review of a large body of scientific literature on sound and health effects, and specifically with regard to sound produced by wind turbines.
Australia: Wind Turbine Technical Paper - Experts Silence Wind Farm Noise
An independent Australian report prepared by acoustic consultancy Sonus and commissioned by the Clean Energy Council finds that there are no direct health effects from living near operating wind farms. The Wind Farm Technical Paper reinforces existing independent research, concluding that there is extensive evidence that sound from wind farms developed and operated in accordance with the current standards and guidelines will not have any direct adverse health effects.
Property Values
The objectives of this study are to examine whether proximity to the 240-turbine, Twin Groves wind farm in eastern McLean County, Illinois, has impacted nearby residential property values and whether any impact on nearby property values remains constant over different stages of wind farm development. The study found prices were negatively affected before the wind farm was built, but rebound after it was in place.
Download the full report here.
CanWEA contracted the services of Canning Consultants Inc. and John Simmons Realty Services Ltd., to prepare a report that evaluates the effect of wind turbines on real estate values in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. The study was prepared in accordance with the Canadian Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice for the Appraisal Institute of Canada, and applied a statistical Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA) model using real property transaction data, in arriving at its conclusions.
The CanWEA Property Value Study, finds that there is no statistical evidence to demonstrate that wind farms negatively affect rural residential market values in the Chatham-Kent area.
A major new report released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory finds that neither the view of the wind facilities nor the distance of the home to those facilities is found to have any consistent, measurable, and statistically significant effect on home sales prices. Although the analysis cannot dismiss the possibility that individual homes or small numbers of homes have been or could be negatively impacted, it finds that if these impacts do exist, they are either too small and/or too infrequent to result in any widespread, statistically observable impact.
Stray Voltage
Statements by Regional Authorities on Wind Turbines and Safety
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Statement by Dr. Isra Levy
Medical Officer of Health, Ottawa Public Health
In this memo to the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, Dr. Isra Levy, Medical Officer of Health from the Ottawa Public Health, states that “The Ontario government has fulfilled the request by Ottawa City Council to conduct a comprehensive review of the available peer-reviewed medical literature regarding wind turbine related health issues. The review did not find evidence of health effects that would warrant public health interventions at this point in time. Ottawa Public Health will continue to follow the work of experts and provincial ministries tasked with studying this emerging issue.”
Click here to view the document.
- Wind turbines and public health (available in French only)
A summary of knowledge
By : L’Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ)- [Quebec national Institute of public health]
This report was produced in order to provide regional public health authorities with the most complete information. The subjects addressed herein were identified in accordance with the health concerns indicated by the public during public hearings or in requests for information received by public health authorities, or based on potential problems perceived by committee members. These subjects include the social and community effects related to implementation of wind farms. The report states that, according to the current scientific knowledge, “Wind turbine generated infrasound does not seem to be of sufficient intensity to cause health problems or annoyance.” Click here to read INSPQ’s report (available in French only).
View the key conclusions and recommendations from the report (translated by CanWEA).
- Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Arlene King, stated in an October 2009 memorandum to Medical Officers of Health and Environmental Health Directors throughout Ontario: “… there is no scientific evidence, to date, to demonstrate a causal association between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects.”
- The Niagara County Statement – September 2009
Report by Public Health and Social Services Committee on wind turbine sound
Wind Turbine Sound
Low Frequency and Infrasound
Human Health
Other links and resources:
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Fact Sheet – Wind Power Realities
Putting Wind Power Myths into Perspective
Produced by Tim Weis, Director of Renewable Energy for the Pembina Institute
As new opportunities emerge to develop wind-power generation in communities across Canada, they raise reasonable questions about the social, environmental and economic impacts of large-scale wind power production. This fact sheet aims to help answer those questions, and to distill the realities of wind power from the myths and misconceptions.
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Danish system operator hits back at US think tank claims over wind power
Electricity sold or exported from Denmark at any one time cannot be said to emanate from any specific source of generation, says Denmark's power system operator, Energinet.dk. For that reason it is impossible to claim that electricity from any particular source is being sold for a specified price. The company's statements were made in response to a report released last month by a Danish right-wing think tank, the Centre for Political Studies (Cepos), in collaboration with the Institute for Energy Research (IER), an American oil and coal lobby group.
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Why so much noise about wind?
Life is full of choices, four doctors argue, and wind turbines are more healthy than the alternatives
Click here to read the recent article in The Globe and Mail
- Comparison of reported effects and risks to vertebrate wildlife from six electricity generation types in the New York/ New England Region
This report, from Pandion Systems Inc. compares effects on vertebrate wildlife from electricity generation by coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, and onshore wind. The focus is on electricity generating sources that are important the NY/NE region of the US and their effects on birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. A literature review was conducted to provide the basis for a Comparative Ecological Risk Assessment of the known and documented effects of electricity generation on vertebrate wildlife. Wind certainly is presented very favourably in comparison to other sources of generation.
The focus was on peer-reviewed literature and scientifically accepted and published reports or documents regarding wildlife effects from electricity generation.
Click here to view the executive summary
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