A procedure for the assessment of wind turbine noise

The noise assessment at the receivers due to wind turbines in operation is usually performed through outdoor measurements. Background noise and wind turbines noise (WTN) are related to wind speed and both contribute to the overall measured noise levels (environmental noise). Nevertheless, the relation between noise and wind speed is not easily predictable, especially when the wind farms are installed in hilly terrains, where the wind shear is truly remarkable. In Italy and in other countries, this kind of assessment is even more difficult to perform due to the national regulations that require to compute the difference between environmental and background noise levels with the same weather conditions. Thus, to get a reliable and approved measure of the residual noise it would be necessary to turn off the wind farm. This work suggests a technical procedure to simultaneously estimate the immission and the residual noise components measured nearby a wind farm when the residual noise is mainly generated by wind. This allows the evaluation of the noise impact produced by operational wind farms, without requiring the farm shut down. The method aims to be fairly straightforward, thus maintaining the required scientific basis to be used as an assessment procedure by consultants and public bodies. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.