Why Copenhagen Hasn't Seen A "Wind Turbine Syndrome" Pandemic

Right now, I'm 8.423 kilometres from an operational wind turbine. I'm in Copenhagen, right next to to the Middelgrunden offshore wind farm. The 40 megawatt facility has generated ~1,199 gigawatt hours in its lifetime.

Here are some of the symptoms the 'Waubra Foundation' say I might experience:

"People are reporting symptoms such as the body vibrations and the waking up at night in a panicked state out to 10km from operating wind turbines 

"Worsening diabetes 

"Tako tsubo heart attacks" 

"they can detect the unwelcome pulsating sensations particularly at night, out to 17 km from the nearest operating wind turbine" 

"Episodes of intense anger" 

"Interference patterns are responsible for the reports some residents and workers have given of experiencing strong physical forces which have knocked them to their knees, felt like a ‘punch in the chest’ or resulted in symptoms of an acute hypertensive crisis"

“Various people have described symptoms where they have described either chest or lip vibration, the lip vibrations have been described to me as from a distance of 10 kilometers away.” 

Curiously, I'm feeling pretty okay. This is despite the fact that 20 wind turbines are really quite close to Copenhagen. If we trace a ten kilometre radius around the wind farm:



So; why isn't the city of Copenhagen wracked by the ravages of 'wind turbine syndrome'? I think there are two reasons.

The groups that promote wind turbine syndrome do so, largely, in English speaking countries. It's their continued promulgation of the concept that seems to lend itself towards the reporting of 'symptoms'. This is something I've explored previously on this blog, here, here and here.

One way of identifying geographic spread is examining lists of individuals speaking about 'wind turbine syndrome'. In this case, most are from English-speaking countries. 

This is an important factor, but it's not the whole story. Even if Denmark had its own 'wind turbine syndrome' organisation, I strongly suspect the phenomenon wouldn't take hold. The Middelgrunden Wind Farm happens to be half-owned by Middelgrunden Wind Cooperative - 10,000 investors that own 10 of the 20 turbines.

I think this plays a big part in why wind farms are so readily accepted by the residents of Copenhagen, and more generally, most of Denmark. Here, there's no simmering discontent for groups like the 'Waubra Foundation' to feed off and worsen. Their supply has no demand; and so, 'wind turbine syndrome' holds no sway.

The close interplay between community discontent and the activities of Australian anti-wind groups comes into stark relief, when you're sitting in a city that considers the idea of 'wind turbine syndrome' a fleeting fascination.