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Assessment of the Acoustic Impact of Wind Farm Projects

Wind energy is a clean renewable and its benefits are considered greater than the disadvantages. It has had the fastest growth rate among the renewable sources of energy over the past few decades due to its competitive price and mature technology, which has resulted in the widespread deployment of wind turbines in rural communities. However, even though wind farms represent environmentally friendly projects, they frequently generate public resistance. Wind turbines are socially controversial because of their visual and acoustic impacts.

The aim of this work was to design a methodology for the preliminary evaluation of potential acoustic impact of wind farms. For this aim, three steps have been proposed: identification, characterization and assessment of the acoustic impact during the construction, operation and decommissioning phase.

The studied wind farm was located in Murcia Region, with a surface of 171 hectares and 16 wind turbines with a rated power of 32 MW and 2480 equivalent hours. The calculation of noise levels was made bearing in mind three possibilities: minimum power (60.9 dB (A)), intermediate power (68 dB (A)) and maximum power (75.3 dB (A)), taking into account wind turbine manufacturer information. A noise map was made for each wind turbine, considering the effect of distance in noise mitigation. And background noise level was incorporated.

Obtained results in the studied area suggested that at a maximum power, at 500 meters of wind turbines, noise level was lower than the reference level established in the legislation. And proposed methodology could help to determine and to evaluate the best location for new wind farm projects. Moreover, this method could be used as a consulting tool for public organizations and private institutions, being quick, concise and clear. Obtained results for the studied wind farm project suggested that almost all the area showed noise levels lower than established background noise level.

Article by Jose Molina-Ruiz, et al, from Spain.

Full access: http://mrw.so/Cv43A
Image by johnnyxenon, from Flickr-cc.

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