Effect of Wind Farm Noise on Local Residents' Decision to Adopt Mitigation Measures

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 14; no. 7; p. 753
• Main Authors: Botelho, Anabela, Arezes, Pedro, Bernardo, Carlos, Dias, Hernâni, Pinto, Lígia M Costa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 11.07.2017; MDPI
• Subjects: Attitudes; Case studies; Decisions; Energy; Energy-Generating Resources; Environmental Policy; Housing; Humans; Local communities; Male; Noise; Noise levels; Noise measurement; Perception; Pressure; Public hearings; Quality of life; Sleep; Sound pressure; Turbines; Wind; Wind effects; Wind farms; Wind measurement; Wind power; Canada; Portugal; mitigation measures; environmental impacts; wind farms; noise annoyance; sound pressure levels
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14070753

Wind turbines' noise is frequently pointed out as the reason for local communities' objection to the installation of wind farms. The literature suggests that local residents feel annoyed by such noise and that, in many instances, this is significant enough to make them adopt noise-abatement interventions on their homes. Aiming at characterizing the relationship between wind turbine noise, annoyance, and mitigating actions, we propose a novel conceptual framework. The proposed framework posits that actual sound pressure levels of wind turbines determine individual homes' noise-abatement decisions; in addition, the framework analyzes the role that self-reported annoyance, and perception of noise levels, plays on the relationship between actual noise pressure levels and those decisions. The application of this framework to a particular case study shows that noise perception and annoyance constitutes a link between the two. Importantly, however, noise also directly affects people's decision to adopt mitigating measures, independently of the reported annoyance.