Outcome of systematic research on wind turbine noise in Japan

In Japan, serious complaints about wind turbine noise have arisen from nearby residents since the commencement of large-scale construction of wind generation plants in about 2000. Regarding this new type of environmental noise problem, scientific knowledge is insufficient and no standard methods for measuring and assessing the noise have been established in Japan. To improve this situation, a research project entitled “Research on the evaluation of human impact of low frequency noise from wind turbine generators” has been conducted over the three years from fiscal year 2010, funded by a grant from the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. This project consisted of three main subjects: (1) physical research on wind turbine noise by field measurement, (2) a social survey on the response of nearby residents, and (3) auditory experiments on the human response to noises containing low frequency components. In this paper, the outcome of the research project is reviewed and standard methods for measuring and assessing the wind turbine noise are discussed.