Aussie residents angry about new Wind Farm

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22495014-6A61,00.html
An article written by Mary Boiling for the Australian Herald Sun outlines how some residents in the town of Maribyrnong in Victoria, Australia are furious over a proposal to put a community owned wind farm in their neighborhood. The wind farm will cost approximately 3,000,000 per turbine, however each turbine will have the power to generate 1.5 megawatts of power. In Maribyrnbong 1.5 megawatts is enough power to bring electricity to 750 homes. Residents are upset because the city council has just backed a plan to begin building the 80m high wind farm just 200m from the West Gate Bridge. The decision will place the wind farm precariously close to the residential subdivision, Yarraville. The residents are upset that the massive turbines of the wind farm will be an eyesore. They are also worried that placing the wind farm so close to the bridge it will block some of the wind that the turbines rely on the generate power. Michael Clarke, mayor of Maribyrnong also questions the location of the wind farm, "This is not going to be the most efficient wind farm in Victoria, because it is away from the coast, and there is some impact on the level of wind from the bridge," he said. The city council's decision simply has most residents beside themselves because the land was originally slated to become a nature park. However city council members feel that having a wind farm in the midst of a nature park will be an added bonus. My reaction to the article is that I can see the benefits on each side of the issue. On the side of the city council, I feel that having a wind farm is a solution to a problem that is occurring on a global scale. The wind farms can be an efficient and clean form of renewable energy. The wind farms as pointed out in the article are not only energy efficient but also quiet. The wind farms are said to create less noise than the normal hustle and bustle of every day traffic that goes over the West Gate bridge everyday. On the other hand I can also agree with the residents in that placing a wind farm so close to a large obstacle such as a bring can block the amount of wind that is going to the wind farm. I do feel however, that the residents as outlined in this article are not as opposed to the idea of using a wind farm to generate energy, as much as they are opposed to having one built in their back yards. My solution for the wind farm debate is simply to locate the wind farm in another area, were it can still serve a useful purpose, but not be hoovering over someones home.