Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Wind Turbine Acoustics
Harvey H. Hubbard
Distinguished Research Associate
NASA Langley Research Center
and
Kevin P. Shepherd, Ph.D.
NASA Langley Research Center
Hampton, Virginia
Introduction
Wind turbine generators, ranging in size from a few kilowatts to several megawatts, are
producing electricity both singly and in wind power stations that encompass hundreds of
machines. Many installations are in uninhabited areas far from established residences, and
therefore there are no apparent environmental impacts in terms of noise. There is, however,
the potential for situations in which the radiated noise can be heard by residents of adjacent
neighborhoods, particularly those neighborhoods with low ambient noise levels. A widely
publicized incident of this nature occurred with the operation of the experimental Mod-1 2-
MW wind turbine (Fig. 3-31), which is described in detail in [Kelley et al. 1985]. Pioneering
studies which were conducted at the Mod-1 site on the causes and remedies of noise from wind
turbines form the foundation of much of the technology described in this chapter.
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