And then there’s what happens after a catastrophe.
The picture below is of a turbine at Starfish Hill Wind Farm, Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia.
The turbine caught fire October 30, 2010. This picture was taken by pilot Bob Page in late February, 2011. Debris was still scattered everywhere at least four months after the fire.
According to the Clean Energy Council, Starfish Hill was designed for low ecological impact, visual amenity, low noise and tourism and economic benefits.
And doesn’t this photo suggest all those qualities?
STOP THESE THINGS 
I am one of the unfortunate land owners boardering on the Starfish Hill wind industrial development site. From the day these things went in they have caused me much grief, depression and anxiety.
My little conservation sanctuary is swimming in noise – paradise lost. I’m sure that all the animals that live on my block feel the same way.
Poor old echidnas seem to do much more work these days with much larger areas dug up than prior to the wind farm I’m guessing they could pin point the location of their food source much more accurately back then.
I’m so close that I’m bathed in flicker too. As the sun sets, the shadows from turning blades sweep across the block.
Being a working class person with a very modest income, the financial costs to me have been astonishing – a massive part of my assets was stripped away over night. I often ask my self why did I bother working hard for all those years? Whilst my host neighbour enjoys a large income stream.
The planning stage was farcical .I had no idea how large these things were going to be and I’m sure the mock up landscape they had on display wasn’t to scale. Along with the baloney they told us about how little noise they emitted.
Dear Nick
I would be interested if you have answers to the following
1.Have the Environmental Protection Authority, in fact, done any acoustic compliance testing, with public availability of the data?
(transparent compliance testing is not something they are known for in Australia or internationally at all, after all they protect their political masters, industry and then lastly the public, if at all)
2. Were you or your family or sanctuary threatened by the Starfish Hill Fire?
3.What was the local fire brigade response?
4. The photo clearly shows a lot of debris (ie potentially lethal projectiles) from the turbine disintegration at Starfish Hill associated with the turbine fire, which clearly sprayed toward the road in the right of the aerial photograph. Was anybody at risk on this road?
5. Do any of your neighbours also share your sense of betrayal associated with pre construction wind company disinformation being in such contradiction to post construction reality?
(they no doubt ‘Acted on their Facts’)
Your observation of echidnas also raises a fascinating question that STT readers might be able to answer. I am aware that echidnas have electroreceptors in their bill, like the platypus, and a number of other animals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroreception) as part of electrolocation. It is plausible that there is electromagnetic interference occuring. Perhaps is is also an issue with other organisms including raptors. After all the wiki article relates the recent discovery of bees also detecting static charge on flowers. There is much to learn!
It is indeed shameful that the wind industry is so unwilling to do the research of adverse acoustic (and electrical) impacts so desperately needed, and treats neighbours worse than guinea pigs. Best wishes for you and your sanctuary
Regards
Jill Patrice
Is it me or does the photo look like a discarded smouldering cigarette? If so, could it be seen to be sending a message to all those who doubt the dangers Industrial Wind Turbines pose to our health and environment?
I’ve included this report on http://www.illwind.org which brings our total # of reports up to 430 worldwide.
Starfish was commissioned in 2003 and was the first one in SA. It has towers of 68m with rotar blades of 64m diameter the capacity is 1.5MW.
Wonder what the debris and damage would be and how far would it spread from todays monsters.
It was this fire where work safety officials pulled CFS crews back to 1km because debris being thrown was considered unsafe for them to be closer. It was a fire as with others in SA – during High Fire danger periods. At first they couldn’t shut them down because the mechanism was damaged by the fire, they just kept turning, even though there was a safety feature where turbines shut down when the temperature got to high.
SA Labor Govt bullshit rationale for siting wind power stations next to where people live – to tap into existing power line infrastructure:
Also from the CEC website re Starfish Hill QUOTE……………
“Electricity transmission
A new transmission network (transmission line and substation works) was required to connect the Starfish Hill Wind Farm to the ETSA Utilities owned electricity grid. ETSA Utilities built and will maintain and operate the transmission network under a contract of more than $10 million.
A 25 km long 66 kV, overhead transmission line connects the existing ETSA Utilities-owned substations from Yankalilla to Cape Jervis. The network capacity (line and substation) is four times thatf the existing 33 kV line. A 33 kV underground cable of about 4.5 km connects the wind farm to the Cape Jervis substation.”
Note: Current Wind Farm Development Plan Amendment bans wind farms in tourist areas eg Fleurieu Peninsula to protect the TOURISM INDUSTRY
More wind industry lies….I really like the one about tourism….anyone ever considered staying at a quaint little bed and breakfast, smack dab in the middle of an industrial wind project? That is not any sane person’s idea of a nice holiday. That’s why steel mills, factories, and other industrial areas do not boast of an ability to attract tourism. Unless they are being paid to work there, people do not go and hang out, for the lovely views, or soothing sounds of the machinery. The bold-faced lies told by these people never cease to amaze me.
What a mess clean enegy ha ha. The clean enegy council should be fined for not cleaning up the mess. This will be what Australia will look like in years to come when the wind companys abandon the turbines. No carbon foot print just rubbish every where.