Wind Turbine Noise 2011
April 11-14, 2011
CNR Auditorium (National Research Council of Italy), Rome, Italy
200 delegates from 25 countries and 70 papers presented, made this, the fourth conference, the biggest and best of the series so far. Of course, Rome was an attractive location and the local organisers did a tremendous job in ensuring that all went smoothly.
Main themes to come out from the conference were
- Swish, and its related thump, are the remaining problems in wind turbine noise. However, there has been real development in understanding of these since the first Wind Turbine Noise Conference in Berlin in 2005, and a solution may not be far away.
- Infrasound continues as a problem in public perception, but there has been no evidence to back this up, despite new studies in how the ear responds to infrasound.
- The main effect of daytime wind turbine noise is annoyance. The night time effect is sleep disturbance. These may lead to stress related illness in some people. Work is required in understanding why low levels of wind turbine noise may produce affects which are greater than might be expected from their levels.
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