The question of the impact of wind turbines on those living near them has been thoroughly studied by American researchers in collaboration with scientists from the University of Augsburg, and the results of their long-term study have been published in the scientific journal PNAS.
For this purpose, data from surveys of 120,000 American households conducted annually from 2011 to 2023 were analyzed, as well as a lot of additional information, such as reports of depression, sleep disorders, chronic headaches and medications used by the respondents.
"Wind turbines do not have a significant impact on health"
The researchers also took into account data on the size of the wind turbines, their power, their exact location and when they were put into operation. The data on the purchased medicines were supposed to show whether there was an increase in the number of diseases as a result of the operation of the wind turbines.
Niklas Roth and his colleagues from Columbia University in New York and the University of Pittsburgh compared the data from different areas - with and without wind energy installations. And their conclusion is that among the corresponding households in the USA "no significant effects on the health" of people were observed.
Criticisms of the methodology
However, there are criticisms of the study, ARD further writes. The publication quotes psychologist Gundula Hübner from the Medical Faculty in Hamburg and the University of Halle, who defines as a methodological flaw the fact that a large part of the participants in the study live at great distances from the wind turbines. "It is therefore not surprising that no effects are found," she points out.
According to Niklas Roth, it is not entirely certain whether the results of this study are also relevant for Germany, where the population density is different and the wind turbines are larger. But on the other hand, this does not necessarily mean that the results in Germany would be completely different.
In fact, the results confirm the conclusions of other studies on the same topic conducted in Europe. For example, from the Netherlands, including annual samples from 2012-2021 of between 350,000 and 560,000 people, which also did not establish a link between health risks and "living near wind turbines".
Another study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Texas in 2022 even reported beneficial health effects from wind energy, albeit indirect - it reduces the share of fossil fuel use and thus improves air quality. For the US in particular, wind energy could even bring an economic benefit of over eight billion US dollars from reduced mortality, the ARD also points out.
Do wind turbines cause stress?
Gundula Hübner tried to clarify, however, whether there were no side effects, such as the presence of symptoms of stress or tension caused by the noise of wind turbines - even if they do not necessarily lead to illness. The surveys also include questions about increased coffee consumption, lack of sleep and taking medication. In a 2019 study in Germany and Switzerland in collaboration with the University of Berkeley in the US, 4.3 percent of respondents said they felt "very disturbed" by the noise of the installations. "In the US, this percentage was only 1.1%," says Hübner. Light pollution bothers even less: only ten out of more than 800 people. Hübner's conclusion: "There are no diseases, only inconveniences, but even these affect a small number of people."
Those affected should participate in the decision-making process
However, she recommends that politicians include the affected residents in the decision-making process and planning of such facilities. The team around Niklas Roth also declares the same - at a very early stage of the planning, and that local impacts such as noise, distances and others should be carefully taken into account, ARD also points out.
Author: Jan Kerkhof ARD