Variables associated with wind turbine noise annoyance and sleep disturbance

Wind turbine noise (WTN) increases the risk of WTN annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbance, which in turn can influence people's well-being. However, the sound level explains only a small fraction of WTN annoyance. The purpose of our study was to determine how acoustic and various non-acoustic variables are associated with WTN annoyance indoors, WTN annoyance outdoors, and sleep disturbance due to WTN. 318 permanent residents living within 2 km of the nearest wind turbine in three different areas of Finland responded to the questionnaire. The turbines were relatively large, within 3 and 5 megawatts. The explanatory models were developed using binary logistic regression. The models predicting WTN annoyance had the predictive strengths of 67% for indoor and 71% for outdoor WTN annoyance. The concern for health effects was the most important factor related to both WTN annoyance and sleep disturbance due to WTN. Other factors explaining WTN annoyance were area, noise sensitivity, and general attitude towards wind power as a form of energy production. Sound level explained also outdoor annoyance and sleep disturbance related to WTN. Furthermore, women were more annoyed indoors and reported more sleep disturbance due to WTN than men. We believe that the health concerns and WTN annoyance could be reduced by providing the residents with more fact-based information about wind power and more interactive and transparent communication concerning the planning and building processes.