The risk of noise problems arises because wind farm companies are allowed to erect 125 metre high industrial turbines as close as 500 metres from homes. In Scotland guidance is no closer than 2000 metres and in France 1500 metres. Experts in England recommend at least 2000 metres for turbines over 2 MWatt ( the ones proposed are 2.5 MWatt) but the planning rules have not been changed. Meanwhile residents take the risk.

The problems arise because

• The planning rules were made ten years ago, at which time turbines were all much smaller
• Turbine noise is continuous and can be especially annoying at night when higher noise limits apply
• The wind farm industry says it gets few complaints, but the literature shows numerous examples
• Those who suffer can have their lives destroyed by the noise and their homes made unsaleable
• It is difficult to predict noise levels close to large numbers of turbines in all wind conditions
• Noise problems are most noticeable in moderate wind conditions when background noise is low
• Noise problems are worst downwind from the site because sound travels furthest in this direction

Developers are required to conduct background noise measurement and to submit the results with their planning application. They are also required to include predictions for the noise levels when the turbines are operational. Predicting noise levels can be inaccurate when there are large numbers of turbines and when wind speed varies.

The developers say there will be no noise problem and that the design will fully comply with planning requirements. The allowed limit is 43 dB (decibels) of noise at night. The decibel is a logarithmic scale and for every extra 6 dB the noise energy level is doubled, so an extra 12 dB is four times greater. If the night time noise level without turbines is 30 dB, which it often is, then the permitted night time noise energy level from the turbines is four times greater. If the night time noise goes as low as 25dB or even down to 20dB, which it sometimes does around the villages, then 43dB is over 8 times more noise energy, which depending on the individual might be perceived as 4 or more times louder. Residents may consider this to be totally unacceptable. There are many cases reported where residents have has serious problems with noise, and it is not always the residents living closest to the turbines. Remedies from wind farm companies are rare and even court cases seldom result in a satisfactory outcome for residents.

The noise from turbines can be very irritating and it is continuous. An experiment showed that people were sensitive to turbine noise at 40dB when the noise from conversation was 55dB. People said it was giving them a headache. If there are several turbines the noise can combine in phase and result in a low frequency reverberation. A similar effect to that from the Chinooks - it is the background booming noise that is of concern and not the engine or the rotor noise. People are most sensitive to low frequency noise which also travels further; hence it is the dominant noise from a Chinook.

If you have no idea what a wind turbine sounds like please ask, we can send a you a sample recording.
If you visit our exhibition we can demonstrate various levels of turbine noise including 43dB.

References, links and other information                         See also our Health Pages
	A conference devoted to the subject of noise from turbines
www.windaction.org A very good reference website with a section devoted to health problems attributed to wind farms. There are 117 papers, 93 of them are about noise and the health problems that local residents exposed to the noise have suffered.
Views of Scotland More papers including one by Barbara Frey with 16 pages of detailed resident accounts of how noise has ruined their lives. The common problem is that turbines are too close to homes. The state is giving priority to commercial interests, while ignoring the reasonable needs of families, whose human rights are ignored.
Communicating the Noise Effects of Wind Farms - paper by C Bajdek 44% of people within half a mile would be considered highly annoyed by noise
The Acoustic Ecology Institute published a report in January this year. We link to the eight page summary which is quite comprehensive, but there is also full report of 32 pages available from the AEI website.
Lincolnshire, UK: 900m from wind farm with eight 2MW turbines Julian and Jane Davis spent 60 nights away from home in the first six months of the wind farm's operation, due to lack of sleep, then moved out permanently. Mrs. Davis says, "It sounds like a train coming toward you that never arrives, or a toy stuck in a tumble drier." They blame Amplitude Modulation but South Holland District Council recorded the noise and reported that "the noise does not equate to statutory nuisance at this time." People near other wind farms suffer similar problems. Amplitude Modulation is not fully understood and therefore cannot be predicted accurately.	See the BBC TV Report
Update: In spring 2008, they attempted to put it on the market, but estate agents refused to list the property due to the noise.        " ... if you can't sleep there then it is uninhabitable."