Seminar Vol. 189
Title: Wind Turbine Syndrome: The Impact of Wind Farms on Suicide
Speaker: Eric Zou, University of Oregon
Time: October 22th, 2019 13:30-15:00
Venue: Conference Room 406, Zengxianzi Science Hall
About the speaker:
Eric Zou is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Oregon. Eric's research is in the economics of pollution prevention. He uses a combination of large environmental datasets and modern econometric techniques to document emerging pollution sources, understand where and why the public is often not adequately protected from these pollution sources, and provide practical insights for the effective enforcement of pollution regulations. Eric received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2018. He is also a proud alumnus of East China Normal University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Economics. Find more about Eric’s research at www.eric-zou.com.
Abstract:
Current technology uses wind turbines’ blade aerodynamics to convert wind energy to electricity. This process generates significant low-frequency noise that reportedly results in residents’ sleep disruptions, among other annoyance symptoms. However, the existence and the importance of wind farms’ health effects on a population scale remain unknown. Exploiting over 800 utility-scale wind turbine installation events in the United States from 2001 to 2013, I show robust evidence that wind farms lead to significant increases in suicide. I explore three indirect tests of the role of low-frequency noise exposure. First, the suicide effect concentrates among individuals, such as the elderly, who are vulnerable to noise-induced illnesses. Second, the suicide effect is driven by days when wind blows in directions that would raise residents’ exposure to low-frequency noise radiation. Third, data from a large-scale health survey suggest increased sleep insufficiency as new turbines began operating. I estimate that the suicide cost of wind farms is not trivial in magnitude compared to the environmental and health benefits of wind energy.
