[ exact phrase in "" ]

[ including uploaded files ]

ISSUES/LOCATIONS

List all documents, ordered…

By Title

By Author

View PDF, DOC, PPT, and XLS files on line
Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

RSS

Add NWW documents to your site (click here)

Purged section of low-frequency noise report 

Author:  | Law, Noise, Wisconsin

As filed by Forest Voice on Dec. 28, 2012, ‘Clean Wisconsin edited “A Cooperative Measurement Survey and Analysis of Low Frequency and Infrasound at the Shirley Wind Farm in Brown County, Wisconsin” prior to filing; the original included a section with one and one-half pages of recommendations for the Highland Wind Farm (HWF), the original Section 5.2.’

5.2 – For the Highlands Project

ChIA and Rand do not have detail knowledge of the Highland project and refrain from specific recommendations. They agree in principle to the conclusions offered herein in Section 4.0.

Hessler Associates has summarized their experience with wind turbines to date in a peer-reviewed Journal1 and have concluded that adverse impact is minimized if a design goal of 40 dBA (long term average) is maintained at all residences, at least at all non-participating residences. To the best of their knowledge, essentially no annoyance complaints and certainly no severe health effect complaints, as reported at Shirley, have been made known to them for all projects designed to this goal.

Schomer and Associates, using an entirely different approach have concluded that a design goal of 39 dBA is adequate to minimize impact, at least for an audible noise impact. In fact, a co-authored paper2 is planned for an upcoming technical conference in Montreal, Canada.

Although there is no explicit limit for LFN and infrasound in these A-weighted sound levels above, the spectral shape of wind turbines is known and the C-A level difference will be well below the normally accepted difference of 15 to 20 dB. It may come to be that this metric is not adequate for wind turbine work but will be used for the time being.

Based on the above, Hessler Associates recommends approval of the application if the following Noise condition is placed on approval:

With the Hessler recommendation, the long-term-average (2 week sample) design goal for sound emissions attributable to the array of wind turbines, exclusive of the background ambient, at all non-participating residences shall be 39.5 dBA or less.

Schomer and Associates recommends that the additional testing listed in 5.3 [For the Shirley Project] be done at Shirley on a very expedited basis with required support by Duke Energy prior to making a decision on the Highlands project. It is essential to know whether or not some individuals can perceive the wind turbine operation at R1 or R3. With proper resources and support, these studies could be completed by late February or early March. If a decision cannot be postponed, then Schomer and Associates recommends a criterion level of 33.5 dB. The Navy’s prediction of the nauseogenic region (Schomer Figure 6 herein) indicates a 6 dB decrease in the criterion level for a doubling of power such as from 1.25 MW to 2.5 MW.

With the Schomer recommendation, and in the presence of a forced decision, the long-term- average (2 week sample) design goal for sound emissions attributable to the array of wind turbines, exclusive of the background ambient, at all non-participating residences shall be 33.5 dBA or less.

There is one qualifier to this recommendation. The Shirley project is unique to the experience of the two firms in that the Nordex100 turbines are very high rated units (2.5 MW) essentially not included in our past experiences. HAI has completed just one project, ironically named the Highlands project in another state that uses both Nordex 90 and Nordex 100 units in two phases. There is a densely occupied Town located 1700 feet from the closest Nordex 100 turbine. The president and managers of the wind turbine company report “no noise issues at the site”.

Imposing a noise limit of less than 45 dBA will increase the buffer distances from turbines to houses or reduce the number of turbines so that the Highlands project will not be an exact duplication of the Shirley project. For example, the measured noise level at R2 is approximately 10 dBA higher than the recommendation resulting in a subjective response to audible outside noise as twice as loud. Measured levels at R1 and R3 would comply with the recommendation.

We understand that the recommended goal is lower than the limit of 45 dBA now legislated, and may make the project economically unviable. In this specific case, it seems justified to the two firms to be conservative (one more than the other) to avoid a duplicate project to Shirley at Highlands because there is no technical reason to believe the community response would be different.

[Click here for the complete (minus the above section) report.]

This material is the work of the author(s) indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this material resides with the author(s). As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Queries e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon