what do you consider the closest YOU, and your family could safely live to a 450 foot turbine?

Thanks Eric, that is a very good question as many people are concerned about the safety of living close to wind turbines.

Living close to wind turbines carries very little risk. Many of the past associated risks have been solved by engineers who are designing the newer systems. One of these concerns is throwing ice during the winter. Large chunks of ice thrown from giant rotating blades located very high in the air can be very destructive. Turbine manufactures have equipped new wind turbines with de-icing for the blades. Also many blades are painted black, which minimizes or eliminates the potential for ice to form.

Another concern that many have is electromagnetic waves from the rotating machine. There have never been any studies showing any direct relation between electrical generation or transmission equipment and cancer or tumors from electromagnetic waves from rotating electrical equipment. The few studies that have shown some relation between electricity and higher rates of cancer have secondary factors that carry a much higher risk such as living in an industrial part of town where pollution levels are very high.

That said the most likely scenario where injury might occur to a person or property would be if the turbine were to come down in a storm. A setback of 1.1 times (or about 500 feet for a 450 ft turbine) the tallest portion of the turbine (tip of the turbine blade when at the apex of it's rotation, the tip pointing straight up at the sky) from dwellings and other buildings will minimize or eliminate the possibility of a portion of the turbine hurting anyone or anything.

The major concern when siting wind generators close to residences is noise from the operation of the generator. This is not a safety issue, but rather a quality of life issue. Many zoning ordinances require that utility scale wind generators be set back 1,400 feet from dwellings to minimize noise pollution. This standard varies from community to community but most setbacks are close to this number.

I hope that this answers your question. Please ask more if you need clarification or there are concerns that you have that I haven't addressed.