Influence of non-standard atmospheric conditions on turbine noise levels near wind farms

摘要

This paper investigates the accuracy of wind turbine noise predictions under non-standard meteorological conditions. It reviews studies into the influence of meteorological variables on noise emission and propagation. In particular, it presents recent extended wind farm noise measurements undertaken by the authors to investigate the effects of periods of higher wind shear on noise propagation. Wind turbine noise levels were measured at a location 1150 m from a wind farm where wind shear was simultaneously monitored. It is found that wind shear tends to have a negligible influence on noise propagation for the range of operating conditions of the wind farm. The influence of wind direction on noise levels at the monitoring location was found to be much larger than that of wind shear.