Recurring myths and concerns are heard in discussions about wind farms

The article in Virumaa Teataja “Discussion in the Haljala community centre turned into anti-wind farm agitation” is a fairly good reflection of what is happening in public discussions in many parts of Estonia and what topics arise. I will write about some myths related to wind turbines and try to give answers to a couple of important questions.

One of the recurring questions is related to noise. This is completely understandable, because no one wants the peace of the home to be disturbed. It is probably important for people to know that in the course of the studies, the noise propagation of the planned wind farm will be modelled so that everything at the residential buildings meets the requirements.

At the same time, stricter requirements than the noise limit for sparsely populated areas are followed. The calculations are made during the planning process and the final location of the wind turbines is chosen based on them. When the wind farm is ready, special control measurements will be carried out to ensure that everything meets the standards. The control measurements carried out in the wind farm projects of our partner OX2 in Finland show that the actual wind turbine noise is below the modelled level. It is also in the interests of the developer that the noise level does not exceed the norms.

The measurement of the noise level should be entrusted to the relevant expert. The results of measurements taken with each device may not be true. Moreover, if there are natural or other important background noises at the measurement site, it is not possible to distinguish whether the measuring device measured the rustle of wind turbine blades, birdsong or traffic passing nearby. The natural noise background itself can also be 60–70 dB, depending on the weather and environment (and this without any wind turbines). For example, even in calm weather, birdsong in the distance is enough for the noise meter reading to exceed 65 dB. Background noise can also be significantly increased by some highways, strong winds, etc.

There has also been a heated debate about infrasound. Studies show that the infrasound of wind turbines does not harm human health. This has been measured a lot and enough studies have been carried out and it has been found that the infrasound accompanying the operation of wind turbines does not exceed the level of infrasound produced by nature itself. In Finland, a thorough health impact analysis of infrasound was carried out in 2020, and this was one of the prerequisites why Finns decided to support and prefer wind energy.

One of the misconceptions that is repeatedly heard is related to electric gas (SF6). Electrical gas is used in the switching equipment of electricity substations all over Estonia. However, this gas is not used to lubricate wind turbine rotors – this claim is not true. In addition, the use of electric gas in the European Union will be restricted from 2026, so electric gas cannot be introduced in wind turbines that are still planned anyway. In other words, if wind turbines are erected somewhere, electricity can no longer be used in them.

Here and there, the claim that onshore wind turbines have a low efficiency, 15–20 percent, has also caught my eye. This is not true, because the efficiency of a modern single wind turbine is actually 48–50 percent. If there are more wind turbines, they will obscure each other and the resulting wind loss will reduce efficiency a bit, but the overall efficiency will still be 40–42 per cent.

It is also mistakenly believed that onshore wind turbines will be subsidized with 2.6 billion euros. In fact, the size of the government’s planned support for onshore wind turbines is about 0.3 billion, and 2.6 billion is planned to be allocated for the support of the marine park. In our opinion, onshore wind farms do not need state subsidies, but they can be developed in fair competition, implementing only the best projects. If there were enough wind turbines on land, we would not need large state subsidies for the erection of offshore wind turbines.
It is often asked what benefits come with the community and the municipality. In the case of any other method of electricity production or any mineral resource, there is no such support measure that would reach the people living in the region as a direct reward. The wind turbine fee is paid annually in the amount of 1 per cent of the annual production income of the wind turbines, and this is the case throughout the life of the wind farm.

50 per cent of the income received by the municipality will be divided between the owners of homes within a radius of 2–3 km from the wind turbine. The amount of compensation depends on the productivity of the wind farm and the price of electricity. The maximum annual wage per household is six months’ minimum wage. The wind turbine fee may not be an important income for everyone, but it can be a significant additional income for some families.

However, the local government can use the income it receives to promote local life, for example, for road maintenance, the creation of leisure facilities, a kindergarten or a school. Here, the community can have a say in what is considered important.

International surveys have shown that the more wind turbines there are in a country, the more people there support wind energy. Of the European Union countries, Denmark has the highest number of wind turbines per capita, with more than 80 per cent of the population supporting wind energy. And if we look at the trends, it is probably the case that there are a lot of questions and doubts at first, but the more wind turbines there are, the more people are convinced that the wind turbine is not dangerous or disturbing. It is human that new things and situations cause hesitation and make you ask.

JAANUS KIVIRAND

MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD OF TMV Green OÜ