BWEA refutes allegations that wind turbines cause ill health

The research was carried out by paediatrician Dr Nina Pierpoint on 10 test families, and claimed that noise and vibration from the turbines can cause a range of conditions including tinnitus, headaches, sleeplessness and anxiety, collectively referred to by Dr Pierpoint as 'Wind Turbine Syndrome'.

In a published response to the claims on its website, the BWEA levelled a number of criticisms against the research. Firstly, it pointed out that the report was self-published and that none of Dr Pierpoint’s research had been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Secondly, it claimed the techniques used in the investigation were “fundamentally flawed”.

The BWEA rounded on the fact that the evidence presented is based on only 10 families, commenting that “such a small sample cannot be regarded as statistically reliable”. The BWEA’s position has been supported on the NHS news website, which states that, “the study design was weak, the study was small and there was no comparison group”.

The BWEA also alleges that Dr Pierpoint is a known anti-wind campaigner with an axe to grind. Commenting that Dr Pierpoint’s research ignored decades of contrary evidence on noise and vibration, and pointing out that academics who specialise in low frequency sound have discounted Pierpoint’s claims, it calls her publication “bad science, which is not only misleading but damaging and disruptive”, and concludes that there is “no evidence” of health concerns with wind turbines.

In a counter-response to Dr Pierpoint’s publication, the BWEA cited research into wind farm noise conducted in 2007 by the University of Salford, on behalf of the UK Government, which surveyed all local authorities in the UK where wind farms were in operation. The study found that out of all UK wind farms (133 at the time of the report operating for up to 16 years), only one wind farm had ever been found guilty of causing a nuisance to the nearest residents – and the issue has subsequently been resolved through management of the turbine control system.

In comparison, the University of Salford report highlighted the fact that in one year alone, there were 39,508 cases of noise nuisance not related to wind farm noise.

Re-iterating a research paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Canadian Acoustics, which refuted Dr Pierpoint’s allegations and commented that they were “irrelevant and possibly harmful, should they lead to unnecessary fears”, the BWEA sought to allay those fears. It pointed out that the belief that wind turbines are built offshore because they are potentially harmful is a common misconception. The move to build offshore is not based on health grounds, but a logical next step in maximising wind yields – there is a tremendous wind energy resource offshore, and this is the next frontier in wind energy development, claims the BWEA.

The BWEA claims that wind turbines are safe, and said that wind power “represents the most benign of all available options for electrical generation”, a claim which it says is supported by the World Health Organisation.

It concludes that, “despite over 100,000 turbines now installed globally, there remains no peer-reviewed evidence of any health concerns with wind turbines”.