Also known as “strobe effect,” shadow flicker consists of the continual interchange between light and shadows that are cast across property and homes near turbines as the sun rises and sets each day. The amount of shadow flicker incurred varies considerably from season to season as the sun’s position on the horizon changes. Shadow flicker purportedly causes harmful effects on people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and is also associated with inducing vertigo, nausea and headaches.
Developers in our area have asked for permission to project 30 hours of shadow flicker per year onto our homes. Technology exists to prevent shadow flicker from being projected onto sensitive receptors. Ordinances in other jurisdictions prohibit industrial wind turbines from projecting shadow flicker onto roadways to prevent accidents resulting from the visual disturbance.
This is the shadow flicker from turbine #30 in a NextEra Energy Resources (FPL) industrial wind facility. This is the results of turbines that were irresponsibly placed too close to homes.