Windy investment?
The projects were selected under the 2015 Targeted Call for Research into Wind Farms and Human Health, which were announced in response to a review of the issue in 2015.
As detailed in the NHMRC Information Paper: Evidence on Wind Farms and Human Health, the review found no direct evidence that exposure to wind farm noise affects physical or mental health. However, it also noted that there was only "poor quality" research available to draw a conclusion from.
The now funded projects are to fill the apparent gap in the evidence base. They include:
- $1.36 million for a project at Flinders University. Led by Associate Professor Peter Catcheside, the project will investigate potential impacts of wind power generation on sleep.
- $1.94 million for a project at the University of New South Wales. Project leader Professor Guy Marks will assemble a team of experts to study the potential impact of infrasound on human health.
It is a controversial investment. In fact, to some it is a complete waste of money.
After all, wind farms have been around for some time, also in densely populated areas.
Yet, even in European countries that have most advanced in implementing the technology, concerns are growing that the potential health issues associated with wind power have been ignored.
In the most widely reported case, in 2013 Danish mink farmers found that their animals became unusually aggressive towards each other, with a number of fatalities.
As their farm was located just a few hundred metres from a wind park development, infrasound generated by wind turbines was marked out as a potential cause.
Although infrasound is below of 20 hertz and therefore outside the audible frequency range of humans, the mink incident triggered public concerns, and put a halt to new wind park projects in Denmark.
Bear in mind, though, that the small European country already produces 40% of its electricity from wind power.
A large Danish study is now on the way to determine whether wind farms can indeed affect people at close range.
According to the national German daily newspaper Die Welt, the concerns have also reached Denmark's large eastern neighbour.
But there has been a muted response by the German Government. After all, wind is an integral component of the so called "Energie Wende" through which the country aims to transition towards an energy portfolio dominated by renewables.
The Danish example shows, though, that the current void of substantial research on the issue creates an environment in which even smaller incidences can have significant ramifications for the industry.