The most noticeable feature of a wind farm is generally its turbines: tall towers with spinning blades. Wind turbines capture wind energy within the area covered by their blades, with their spinning motion driving an electrical generator to produce electricity, which is then transmitted to the grid.
A wind farm will generally have multiple turbines, with a single turbine capable of powering around 3,000 homes annually.
Wind farms are highly compatible with all kinds of farming activities. Livestock grazing and cropping can continue right up to the edge of all turbines, hardstands (hard-surfaced areas) and access tracks. The hardstands constructed for each turbine provide excellent all-weather storage areas for machinery. There are no documented effects on stock nor credible reports of decreases in productivity. In some cases, stock have been seen to use the shade of a turbine during hotter months. Existing farm access tracks and laneways are used, wherever viable, instead of building new access tracks to minimise disruption to farming activities.
At the end of the wind farm's life cycle (typically 35 years) the wind farm is decommissioned (shut down). The project owner will remove the wind turbines and all above ground structures and rehabilitate the site. This will be a condition of the wind farm's development approval from the State government and our agreement with the landowners. During decommissioning most of the materials the wind farm is made from can be reclaimed or recycled.
There has been a series of studies on the impacts of wind farms on local land values which have shown that property prices are not likely to be impacted. The NSW Department of Lands' analysis of property sales data found that wind farms did not negatively affect property values in most cases. A 2016 report commissioned by the Office of Environment and Heritage found no loss in productivity for rural properties hosting wind farms; and its analysis of property resale data found that all properties hosting wind farms showed capital growth consistent with the broader market.
Like almost anything that moves — the ocean, tractors, cars, the wind itself — wind turbines do create sound. The sound they make can be described as a whooshing or swishing sound. In most cases, it is possible to carry on a conversation at the base of a wind turbine without having to raise your voice. As part of a development application for a wind farm project, detailed noise studies are undertaken by specialist consultants to determine existing noise levels and the wind farm project will be designed and built to comply with the relevant noise standards.
The National Health and Medical Research Council has conducted a comprehensive independent assessment on the scientific evidence on wind farms and human health. They found: "After careful consideration and deliberation, NHMRC concludes that there is currently no consistent evidence that wind farms cause adverse health effects in humans. There is no direct evidence that exposure to wind farm noise affects physical or mental health. While exposure to environmental noise is associated with health effects, these effects occur at much higher levels of noise than are likely to be perceived by people living in close proximity to wind farms in Australia."