Do wind turbines have adverse health impacts?
working paper
Abstract
Wind power is considered key in the transition towards net zero, but there are concerns about adverse health impacts on local residents. Based on precise geographical coordinates, we link representative longitudinal household data to all wind turbines in Germany and exploit their staggered rollout over two decades for identification in a spatial difference-in-differences design. We also consider exogenous wind directions. We find little evidence of negative effects on mental and physical health in the 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12), and on self-assessed health and doctor visits. Finally, we detect no impacts on suicides, as an extreme outcome of mental distress.