Government officials in Ontario are proposing new laws to ensure wind turbines are placed at least 550 metres from the nearest house. And that distance is intended for turbines emitting the lowest allowable noise level. Even greater distances, such as 1.5 km, would be regulation for larger groups of turbines.
The tough new proposal is apparently twice as big as what the wind turbine industry was expecting and is disheartening for industry officials who claim the laws could dampen any further plans for new wind farms, especially in densely populated southern Ontario.
Judith Lipp, executive director of The Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative, said it could put an end to the plan to add two more turbines to the existing one in downtown Toronto at Exhibition Place; Lipp was dismayed at the idea of noise pollution being a factor in an area already buzzing with un-ending traffic.
Others, such as some officials in the medical industry and area residents, are very pleased with the proposal and claim that wind turbines affect personal health and well-being in a wide variety of ways, including causing headaches and sleep disruptions.
