New Wind Turbine Makes Very Little Noise

A new wind turbine employing a dish design instead of three large blades has been said to make almost no noise, produce about 30 percent more energy and could be more visible to birds and bats. Noise is one of the chief complaints registered by people living near wind turbines. Some have said it causes them stress, anxiety, insomnia and even depression.

A new much quieter turbine design might be very welcome for those people, although they might also just find something else to complain about. If it is proven to kill fewer birds and bats, it could pave the way for more wind farms, as loss of flying creatures has been one of the downsides played up by critics of wind power.

Additionally, because the new turbines 30 blades form a smaller dish, no very-long blades are required, so it doesn’t use as much air space vertically, meaning birds like raptors that cruise on air currents high in the air might be less susceptible to turbine accidents. Over sixty golden eagles are estimated to die each year at a large wind farm in California, not far from the Bay Area.

One estimate puts the total number of birds killed each year in the U.S. due to wind turbines at over 400,000.

Fish are also sensitive to the sounds and vibrations generated by wind turbines, and their ability to detect predators might be disrupted when wind farms are placed on or near their habitats. (Sound also travels further in water than in air.)

You can see one of the dish turbines in the video below. They are made by an Australian company named RESA.

Image Credit: RESA

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Chad A.

6:18AM PST on Feb 20, 2012

Imagine what we could be doing if the US government was backing up this industry the way it supports carbon fuels!

send a green star

Dave C.

7:10PM PST on Feb 13, 2012

certainly will make less noise than the highways I mostly see windmills near....or the airports most large cities have.....good if they won't harm as many birds/bats although always need to weigh the benefits of any new energy source with the risks if we do nothing w/r air pollution, climate instability, etc....

Lynn C.

1:46PM PST on Feb 13, 2012

Hope this new design proves less detrimental to the birds. Keep us informed, if you will Jake.

Fred K.

9:21AM PST on Feb 13, 2012

Cue up NEKTAR, 'Recycled'
'Clean the scene, change machines!'

Douglas S.

9:40AM PST on Jan 16, 2012

Interesting

Howard C.

2:14PM PST on Jan 9, 2012

All the time we continue to use huge amounts of electricity we need to find someway of making it and as far as I can see windpower is less harmful to the Earth than quite a few of the alternatives! There are quite a few windfarms around where I live, and even more out at sea, I think that they are actually quite attractive but I'm none too sure that I'd want to live right next to one!

Colleen M.

7:13AM PST on Nov 11, 2011

...please excuse the typing mistakes. I have a new keyboard ;>)

7:11AM PST on Nov 11, 2011

...another specifi refence to the old style of wind mill/pump that was used on pioneer farms. They were efficient and did not kill the critters BUT in the 1950's the power companies PAID the farmers to destroy their windmills and "offered" to remove them gratis. Now the electricity suppliers have no "of the grid" competitors. The catch here is that even if you have VERY little consumprion of grid power, they will charge you a distance fee for the line transmission. My killowatt use is $12-15/month BUT my transmission fee and maintenance fee top $150/month!! I have ben told by the power company, my nvoice would be less than 1/2 if I lived in a major city, in a huge house with ALL my lights on. I wuld be closer to the grid station and have nominal transmission fees.

7:02AM PST on Nov 11, 2011

I live in Chinook country. It is named after the gale-hurricane force winds that channel throught the mtn passes. The wind farms jhere are prolific, noisy and ugly and they kill thousands of bats and migrating birds. Let's hope this is a remedy. nobody ever looks at the big picture of pollination and plague if we lose our bats and birds

rene d.

2:39AM PST on Nov 11, 2011

thanks.