This document authored by Acoustic Ecology Institute provides a comprehensive overview of noise issues pertaining to utility-scale wind energy development. This AEI Special Report will be continually updated, incorporating new research, more recent reports, and suggestions/comments from readers. Planned topics to be added over time include: effects of noise on wildlife and habitat, offshore wind energy, and the health effects of chronic noise exposure.

In this letter to residents of Burke, NY, Dr. Nina Pierpont briefly discusses her findings of health impacts on families living in proximity to industrial-scale wind turbines.

Journal of Sound and Vibration

"Since the start of the operation of a 30MW, 17 turbine wind park, residents living 500m and more from the park have reacted strongly to the noise; residents up to 1900m distance expressed annoyance. To assess actual sound immission, long term measurements (a total of over 400 night hours in 4 months) have been performed at 400 and 1500m from the park. In the original sound assessment a fixed relation between wind speed at reference height (10 m) and hub height (98 m) had been used. However, measurements show that the wind speed at hub height at night is up to 2.6 times higher than expected, causing a higher rotational speed of the wind turbines and consequentially up to 15 dB higher sound levels, relative to the same reference wind speed in daytime. Moreover, especially at high rotational speeds the turbines produce a ‘thumping’, impulsive sound, increasing annoyance further. It is concluded that prediction of noise immission at night from (tall) wind turbines is underestimated when measurement data are used (implicitly) assuming a wind profile valid in daytime."

This 12-month diary (January 2007 through December 2007) was compiled by Gail Mair. Mrs. Mair lives with her husband Walter in Tuscany, Italy. Gail (fluent in English, German, and Italian) and Walter (a native of Italy) bought this piece of property some years ago and, in October 2006, moved into the (modest) dream house they had just built. It was to be their retirement home. As construction on their new home was coming to an end, wind developer, Gamesa, was completing construction on its windfarm nearby. In November 2006, the turbines were turned on and the problems of noise were started -- Day after day, relentless, unending. Gail and Walter have asked that their diary be circulated widely, in the hope of saving other communities and individuals from the misery they are living through.

This paper on Infrasound and Low Frequency Noise Dose Responses, was presented at the Inter-Noise 2007 conference held in Istanbul, Turkey August 28-31, 2007. The authors are Mariana Alves-Pereira and Nuno A. A. Castelo Branco of the Erisa-Universidade Lusofona, Lisbon, Portugal and the Center of Human Performance, Alverca, Portugal.

Wind power is a relatively new generator of electricity in Sweden. Legislation and regulation regarding noise from wind turbines in Sweden have been discussed. Eja Pedersen at Halmstad University has at the request of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency prepared this report as a base for further discussions on regulation and guidelines on noise from wind turbines in Sweden. The report reviews the present knowledge on perception and annoyance of noise from wind turbines in residential areas as well as in recreational areas. It also summarizes regulations in some European countries. The author Eja Pedersen is responsible for the content of the report.

Stockholm, August 2003

SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Report 5308

Department of Environmental Medicine, Goteborg University, P.O. Box 414, SE-405 30 Goteborg, Sweden (Received 14 November 2003; revised 1 September 2004; accepted 18 September 2004)

This paper on Infrasound and Low Frequency Noise Dose responses, was presented at the Inter-Noise 2007 conference held in Istanbul, Turkey August 28-31, 2007. The authors are Mariana Alves-Pereira and Nuno A. A. Castelo Branco of the Erisa-Universidade Lusofona, Lisbon, Portugal and the Center of Human Performance, Alverca, Portugal.

To conclude, it can be stated that with respect to wind turbine sound an important phenomenon has been overlooked: the change in wind after sunset. This phenomenon will be more important for modern, tall wind turbines and in view of the many wind farms that are planned. If this problem is not recognized and solved it will hamper the expansion of wind energy.