# Would you want to live near a power plant??



## RGH (Sep 12, 2011)

well..it may very well have a negative impact on the value of your home...maybe...maybe not..do you think it will be in sight from your home? or will there be transmission line close to your home?...thats what I would want to know...how does this hurt me financially...is there any health concernes aswell...information=knowledge = power...good luck


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## jefft110 (Jul 7, 2010)

^^Yeah. I'd be more worried about what it might do to my property value than the health issues.

Of course the main reason for potentially lowering the property value would be because prospective buyers might be concerned with the potential health issues...


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## Inphase (May 5, 2012)

I don't think I'd be able to see it from my house...brother and sister on the other hand, definitely. They're almost within a stones throw. The transmission lines would go from the plant and in the opposite direction from me.

I never thought about property value. It's weird to think they're putting it where they are. Our house is on the edge of the city (neighbours across the street back onto farm land), but that farmland is being bought up and theres a big development starting, which will eventually include a lake, schools etc... The city just built a huge sports area with a bunch of soccer fields. All this is within under one mile of the proposed plant.


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## Widestance_Politics (Jun 2, 2010)

Health-wise you are fine (if Canadian emission laws are anything like the US)....and noise-wise also....the only time you should hear any offending noise is during the commissioning of the plant, or during an unexpected trip of the turbines if any of them are steam fed. If this is strictly a gas fed peaker plant then all you should worry about is it maybe being ugly....


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## CADPoint (Jul 5, 2007)

I believe I'd be interested in what the prevailing wind direction is, and where are you in respects to the transmission lines.


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## troublemaker1701 (Aug 11, 2011)

Why not? I worked on a lot of power houses. New construction, scheduled shut downs , maintenance, gas fired,coal burners, Nukes, big money. Put my kids through college.:thumbup:


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

A gas-turbine plant ain't like a coal plant. You're not gonna smell it or have problems with fly ash. A mile away, you won't be able to hear it. Next door you will, especially depending on how they cool it: If they used forced air cooling it's gonna have some big fans. 

I agree with _Widestance:_ Seems like the main concern is ugliness.

-John


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## Inphase (May 5, 2012)

We have PLENTY OF WIND HERE, and thankfully the plant will be definitely down from me. Quite rare that it would blow this direction.


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## leland (Dec 28, 2007)

*Not in my back yard.*

Funny how this works. 
The very thing that feeds our families, is now a concern. With out the plant, we have no work. We need electricity to earn a living.
I do see your concern with the proximity to your home.

It will create short term construction jobs. Then may be 100 permanent jobs.

Weird kind of dilemma you find yourself in. 

The very 'Devil' that you rely on is at your door step. But not welcome.


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## Sparkypyro (Nov 2, 2011)

I did a gas turbine peaker plant 4 years ago and that thing was quiet. The huge power plant I live by is hardly noticeable as far as sound goes. There were 6 turbine buildings and 6 huge concrete stacks. The plant is gas powered. Every once in awhile there is a steam release that causes quit a roar but this is only when there is a system failure and they need to dump pressure. Last one I think was like 4 years ago. This is a plant that was built in the 60's. My last house was in Hermosa Beach about a half mile away on a hill overlooking the plant and it just becomes one of those things you sometimes see but soon forget.


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## MightyGeeno (May 21, 2012)

*It's OK...*

Any chance you'll get a job there? :no:


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## Inphase (May 5, 2012)

I think I would definitely apply for a job there when the time comes.

Does anyone know if they would need electricians? Or would they be after linemen or PSE types???


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## Amish Electrician (Jan 2, 2010)

Power Plants are good neighbors. Period.

I've camped out in the Nevada desert, in the shadow of a major power plant (coal and natural gas), and it was so quiet at night you could hear flowers open on the sagebrush. Sounded like popcorn. The only area where noise was an issue was right along the rail tracks; coal trains are LONG trains.

Emissions? Emissions are simply water vapor. Period. You're going to have a few more foggy days than before- at least if you're in the spot where the water vapor settles.

Power plants need cooling ponds. This means they become little wildlife sanctuaries. You'll see everything from deer to snowy owls.

Power lines? EMF? You might hear a little buzzing directly under them, but that's it. Even the inspection helicopters are pretty quiet these days.

One thing that does NOT come with a power plant next door is more reliable power. I've lived next to several plants, and it seems those places had more outages than the town proper. Go figure.

Now .... if they're doing a solar field, you might not want to be in sight of the panel faces. They can act like pretty good mirrors.


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## NacBooster29 (Oct 25, 2010)

If they have a steam turbine as many gas fired plants use they steam created in the cooling process to fire a steam turbine. They may have to periodically open a release valve in the steam line, that can be loud as all hell. Also depending on maintenance schedules look forward to a slew of trades coming and going for a month or so. Other than that the plants where we work are very clean quiet and put the neighbors on highest priority. I would never want to live near one though it does have that " undustrial" look.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

I live 5 miles from a nuclear power station.


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## Amish Electrician (Jan 2, 2010)

5 miles is practically a world away. But ...

You'll not be bothered by endless coal trains.
You'll not have to worry about an underground pipeline breaking.


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## Tiger (Jan 3, 2008)

mcclary's electrical said:


> I live 5 miles from a nuclear power station.


I just did a little reading...Illinois has more nuclear power stations than any other state. If Illinois were a country, it would be #12 for the greatest number of plants. The poison is invisible so it must be OK, right? Now fracking is coming to Illinois. There's a good youtube of a running kitchen faucet holding a flame (in an area with fracking, PA maybe).


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## Inphase (May 5, 2012)

There's a TON of misconception about fracking! Its not the end of the world by any means.


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## amptech (Sep 21, 2007)

It wouldn't bother me one bit. They built a NG fired peaking plant near here a few years ago. Local tree huggers went nuts and spent 2 years and who knows how much money trying to stop it. It was a perfect location. A 16" ANR pipeline intersected with 69kva cross-country lines on this property out in the country on a state hiway. It got built any way and the woman who led the fight against it was a doctor who fights with the town every year because she refuses to mow her lawn(doesn't want to disturb the birds, animals and insects). It was great when she got a TV news crew out there after it was done and gave a speech on camera about how awful it was that "corporate thugs" managed to get it built and how horrible it was going to be when it was running. It was actually running at the time she said that. She was standing 300' away and couldn't tell. When she was told it was running she turned red as a fire engine and stomped off to her car cussing up a storm.


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## Inphase (May 5, 2012)

^^ Well that sounds promising.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

I lived 4 blocks from a small city plant. I always heard the cooling tower fanbelts squeal, (pause) squeal, (pause) squeal...


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Tiger said:


> ...The poison is invisible so it must be OK, right...?


 Eh, I'd live next to a nuke in a heartbeat. You'll get more radiation exposure from the isotopes in burned coal, and that's no lie.

-John


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## Amish Electrician (Jan 2, 2010)

Tiger, that YouTube video has been completely debunked.

The supposed 'burning water' problem was artificially created by the 'victim,' a political activist. It has absolutely nothing to do with 'fracking,' or any other mining activity.

You might as well believe that there really are elves and orcs in New Zealand, because you saw them in a movie. I'll bet those evil miners are also mining a planet with blue natives and flying horses, too.


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## Vintage Sounds (Oct 23, 2009)

I live 10 minutes from a recently built gas fired plant, and things are alright. So far anyway...


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