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Noisy Wind Farms Face Crackdown
At least one in six of the 255 wind farms in Britain have received noise complaints according to figures obtained by the Daily Telegraph.
But local authorities have never managed to prosecute on the grounds of noise nuisance because it is so difficult to prove.
The main problem is the intermittent nature of noise from wind farms that makes it difficult to measure. Inspectors have to be on the site when the noise is worst, even though that could be in the middle of the night. They also have to prove it is persistent even though it is difficult to know when the wind will change.
To try and solve these problems the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has commissioned research on how councils should be investigating noise.
“There is a possibility that local authorities are not currently investigating complaints about noise from wind farms due to the absence of any formal technical guidance,” an internal document reads.
“Defra wishes to let a contract to provide local authorities with a methodology by which to investigate noise from wind farms, to support local authority enforcement of statutory nuisance legislation.”
The research results, which are due out later this year, should make it much easier for councils to crackdown on noisy wind farms if they are causing a nuisance to residents.
Telegraph.co.uk: Noisy wind farms face crackdown
March 14th, 2010 at 5:19 am
I’ve a hunch that it will be the sound waves below the limits of human hearing that will prove to be the real hazard to health.
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March 25th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
I have been to a wind farm (Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia). Except for the sound of the wind, you cannot hear a single thing unless you walk up to the base of the wind turbine and put your ear against it. Oh and btw, they don’t kill birds. This wind farm has been generating power for 9+ years, and they haven’t had a single bird crash into any of them.
March 25th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Noise can be and is measured – it isn’t imaginary. The killing of birds and bats is an established fact, dependent on where the windfarm is sited.