Stray voltage a growing concern in light of wind energy project

Stray voltage a growing concern in light of wind energy project | Your online newspaper for Southwestern Ontario:

NORTH PERTH- The concerns surrounding industrial wind turbines have included everything from health impacts to air travel, but one issue under the radar is starting to create a buzz.

Stray voltage, or tingle voltage, has been known to the agricultural community for over 30 years, caused by improper grounding of an electrical system that allows low voltage current to travel along a neutral wire. Perth Federation of Agriculture president Brent Royce said most farmers are familiar with the nuisance that can be brought on by any number of changes to a system.

“There probably isn’t a livestock person around here that doesn’t know what stray voltage is or had issues with it,” he said. “I’ve heard of people putting a new phone line in their barn and that causing stray voltage.”

While the issue of stray voltage may not be new, plans for a wind turbine project in North Perth and Perth East have the potential to increase the risk to farmers and their animals, Royce said. The primary area of research on wind turbines has aimed at the impact on human health, but Royce said that animal health is just as important for farming communities such as North Perth.

Continue reading at "Your online newspaper for Southwestern Ontario":