U.S. Midwest Rejects Fears of ‘Wind Turbine Syndrome’

Only 14% of people in six U.S. Midwestern states have bought the claim that wind turbines harm human health, according to a bipartisan poll reported in Midwest Energy News. Lydersen says concern about health impacts ranged from 7% in Iowa, a leading U.S. wind generator, to 21% in Wisconsin, which has fewer wind farms. “Wind energy advocates…said distorted and unsubstantiated scientific and health claims continue to be a problem for renewable energy industries in general,” she writes. But they acknowledge that, “while turbines don’t typically cause direct health impacts, badly-sited turbines can cause irritating noise and visual impacts. So developers and planners must be responsible in making sure poor planning decisions don’t fuel otherwise unjustified animosity toward wind.”