Wind turbine noise - progress to date, and where to next?

摘要

In the UK, noise assessments for wind farm developments are undertaken using the methodology set out in ETSU-R-97 "The Assessment & Rating of Noise from Wind Farms' published in September 1996. The Government's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), which has policy responsibility for ETSU-R-97, commissioned a report in 2010 to analyse how noise impacts are considered in the determination of wind farm planning applications, and specifically look at how the ETSU-R-97 methodology was being applied. The Hayes McKenzie Partnership (HMP) undertook the study, and reported back in April 2011. The HMP report highlighted variations and aspects of the methodology that in practice were being misunderstood and incorrectly applied, leading to confusion and uncertainty in the planning process.