Falmouth Wind Turbine Noise Known 1979

Boone, North Carolina. Federal Government Wind Noise Study 1979

How Did The State of Massachusetts Install Commercial Wind Turbines So Close To Residential Homes Knowing The Federal Study Done In 1979 Showed “ The annoyance was real and not imagined”

Folks , Massachusetts Officials Knew in 1979 The Damage From Commercial Wind Turbines.

Acoustic Noise Associated with the MOD .. 1 Wind Turbine: Its Source, Impact, and Control

This report summarizes extensive research by staff of the Solar Energy Research Institute and its subcontractors conducted to establish the origin and possible amelioration of acoustic disturbances associated with the operation of the DOE/NASA MOD-l wind turbine installed in 1979 near Boone, North Carolina.

Results have shown that the source of this acoustic annoyance was the transient, unsteady aerodynamic lift imparted to the turbine blades as they passed through the lee wakes of the large, cylindrical tower supports.

Nearby residents were annoyed by the low-frequency, acoustic impulses propagated into the structures in which the complainants lived. The situation was aggravated further by a complex sound propagation process controlled by terrain and atmospheric focusing.

This document summarizes the results of an extensive investigation into the physical factors surrounding noise complaints related to the DOE/NASA MOD-l wind turbine operating near Boone, North Carolina.

The work reported here presents the results of investigative efforts of staff members of the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) and its subcontractors: the Fluid Dynamics Research Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Departments of Meteorology and Mechanical Engineering of Pennsylvania State University, and the Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Complaints of noise emanating from the operating MOD-l were confined to about a dozen families living within a 3-km radius of the turbine, about half of whom were annoyed frequently_

These families represented a very small fraction of the total households within this radial distance, a number exceeding 1000 homes, including most of the town of Boone itself.

In summary, the complaints centered on the following perceptions: .. The annoyance was described as an intermittent “thumping” sound accompanied by vibrations. .. A “feeling” or “presence” was described, felt rather than heard, accompanied by sensations of uneasiness and personal disturbance. ..
The “sounds” were louder and more annoying inside the affected homes. .. Some rattling of loose objects occurred.

The primary objectives of SERI’s investigation have been (1) to identify the physical mechanisms responsible for the generation, propagation, and human response (impact) of the annoying “sounds” related to the operation of the MOD-l turbine and (2) to develop suggestions for its amelioration.

A definitive set of physical measurements that document the characteristics of the MOD-l acoustic emissions, the vertical structure of the atmospheric velocity and thermal fields controlling the sound propagation, and the internal acoustic pressure variations and structural vibrations of two of the affected homes has been obtained through a series of field surveys. In addition, a number of supporting wind tunnel and full-scale tests using a small, downwind turbine have been conducted to enhance our basic understanding of the suspected physical processes involved. To aid in the investigation, a numerical model of the noise generation process has also been developed. These field measurements and model results allowed us to conclude the following: ..

The annoyance was real and not imagined.

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http://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/old/1166.pdf

SERI/TR-635-1166UC Category: 60DE85002947Acoustic NoiseAssociated with theMOD .. 1 Wind Turbine:Its Source, Impact, and ControlN. D. KelleyH. E. McKennaR. R. HemphillC. l. EtterR. l. GarreltsN. C. Linn
Wind Turbine Noise Tests
February 1985Prepared under Task Nos. 1066.70 and 4803.10WPA No. 171ASolar Energy Research InstituteA Division of Midwest Research Institute1617 Cole BoulevardGolden, Colorado 80401Prepared for theU.S. Department of Energy

Contract No. DE-AC02-83CH-10093

Proof that Massachusetts officials were aware of wind turbine noise in 2005 :

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center :

This report was funded by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust’s Community Wind Collaborative on behalf of the towns of Mattapoisett, Marion & Rochester. It was prepared by Sally Wright and Lynn Di Tullio of the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts.

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“Noise
Noise considerations generally take two forms, state regulatory compliance and nuisance levels at nearby residences:

A. “Regulatory compliance”: Massachusetts state regulations do not allow a rise of 10 dB or greater above background levels at a property boundary (Massachusetts Air Pollution Control Regulations, Regulation 310 CMR 7.10). This sound level is very unlikely to be a reached incase at the sites we examined.

B. “Human annoyance”: Aside from Massachusetts regulations, residences must also be taken into consideration. Any eventual turbine would be sited such that it would be inaudible or minimally audible at the nearest residences.