Blowing in the wind: Turbines trigger noise complaints

You might want to reconsider having a turbine as your neighbour with new research revealing the level of noise wind farms make at night.

Electricity isn’t the only thing wind turbines are generating with concerns that the renewable energy source could trigger noise complaints.

Researchers from Flinders University are looking for ways to decrease wind turbine noise by improving their manufacturing guidelines and design. 

The ‘swoosh’ sound – technically known as amplitude modulation (AM) – from turbines is likely to be heard by neighbouring residents up to five times more in the night than during the day. 

Wind direction, season and wind farm distance are all contributing factors to the level of noise generated.  

PhD candidate Duc Phuc Nguyen and acoustic expert Dr Kristy Hansen used a combination of long-term monitoring and machine learning to determine the characteristics that contribute to the noise pollution. 

“The noise seems to worsen after sunset when amplitude modulation can be detected for up to 60% of the night-time at distances around 1 km from a wind farm,” Nguyen says.

“At greater than 3 km, amplitude modulation also occurs for up to 30% of the night-time.”

Wind Farm Noise Study

The Wind Farm Noise Study which is based at the Adelaide Institute for Sleep health at Flinders University is investigating the repercussions of wind farm noise on sleep disturbances. 

According to Dr Hansen, the directional nature of wind turbine noise affects residents in downwind and crosswind conditions.

“Using these recent advances in machine learning, we have been able to develop an AM detection method that has a predictive power close to the practical limit set by a human listener”.

“These studies advance our ability to measure and monitor the noise from wind turbines that is likely to be more annoying than other noise types at the same level.”

So if you’re one who likes their sleep, you might want to consider setting up camp next to some quieter neighbours.

Written by Rebecca Borg