LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]



Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Neighbours at odds over noisy wind farm 

Credit:  A noisy neighbour | Grant Miller | Manawatu Standard | September 13 2017 | www.stuff.co.nz ~~

Two residents with very different views have described what it’s like to live near a noisy wind farm in Manawatū – one isn’t bothered by it, and the other wonders if “this saga is ever going to end”.

Dr Lee Huffman has maintained a detailed log for 10 years, recording “whining”, “mechanical grinding”, a “whoosh” and a “roar” from the Te Rere Hau wind farm on the Tararua Range.

Joseph Poff, on the other hand, has slated the Palmerston North City Council for “harassing” NZ Windfarms about noise. “I’d like to see a lot better use of ratepayer money,” he said.

The council has battled with NZ Windfarms in the courts and commissioners are now reviewing what rules there should be to control noise from the farm.

“We want to be able to be outside of our home when it’s calm,” Huffman told commissioners at a hearing in Palmerston North on Wednesday.

“We want to be able to open our windows and not hear the whine… or the roar.

“We want to be able to open our windows at night.”

On a still day in the countryside, there could be “whining, roaring and grinding so intrusive that we don’t want to be outside”.

The first time Huffman heard the Te Rere Hau farm, it woke her up. She wondered what her husband Graham Devey was doing. “What was he doing in the barn that was causing such a racket?”

Huffman told commissioners the problems were worst when wind speeds were low, particularly between 6 metres per second and 10m per second. She backed the city council’s position, that there should be an 8m per second threshold before the turbines kick in at night. She also said subjective assessment was a legitimate way to monitor noise.

Poff was having none of that. The 2010 New Zealand noise standard indicated NZ Windfarms should be able to run its turbines at 6m per second and commissioners shouldn’t deviate from that, he said.

“It seems to me that the city council’s position is that it’s now attempting to change the New Zealand standard to fit the complaint.

“My personal experience has been no negative impact on my lifestyle or that of my children.”

Poff pointed out NZ Windfarms had complied with its resource consent. Lawyers were the only winners out of the dispute, he said.

NZ Windfarms chief executive John Worth said there had recently been a “reasonably comprehensive reversal in style” on engaging with neighbours.

The company previously had a formal style where the focus was on complying with the letter of the law. The new approach was to understand the conditions causing problems for neighbours and do better than just comply with the company’s legal obligations, he said.

NZ Windfarms engineer Dr Jamie Wallace said the company was refining a system designed to prevent turbines from operating during conditions thought to cause annoyance to neighbours. That involved using sophisticated software and adjustments could be made in real time to switch off some turbines.

Te Rere Hau site manager and electrical engineer Adam Radich said reducing wear on gearboxes helped reduce noise.

NZ Windfarms was also curtailing production so the turbines would operate when the revenue was worthwhile and would not run when it wasn’t profitable, he said.

Low spot prices tended to coincide with hours of darkness, evenings, weekends and in summer, which was also when residents wanted to spend more time outdoors.

“NZ Windfarms can run the farm in a smarter way and reduce noise effects.”

Source:  A noisy neighbour | Grant Miller | Manawatu Standard | September 13 2017 | www.stuff.co.nz

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share

Tag: Complaints


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon