Wind farms are to become quieter

The Inter-Wind research project starts research with residents on noise pollution from wind turbines in the Swabian Jura [ Picture: SWE] - Noise from wind turbines is a constant source of annoyance, despite compliance with emission control standards. But while some people feel heavily burdened by the noises, others hardly notice them. The Inter-Wind research project (Interdisciplinary Analysis and Mitigation Approaches - Residents' Experience of Acoustic and Seismic Wind Turbine Emissions), in which the University of Stuttgart is also involved, is investigating which factors interact in the noise pollution caused by wind turbines and which approaches for mitigation can be considered. The factors in the generation and perception of noise from wind turbines are complex and can only be researched on an interdisciplinary basis. The research team therefore includes the Environmental and Social Psychology departments of MSH Medical School Hamburg and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, the Geophysical Institute at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT-GPI), the Chair of Wind Energy at the Institute of Aircraft Design (SWE) at the University of Stuttgart, and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wuerttemberg (ZSW), also based in Stuttgart. IFB/SWE, GPI und ZSW are members of the research cluster WindFors in the south of Germany. The scientists are jointly investigating how meteorology and the geological subsurface interact in the propagation of sound and ground motion, how noise from wind turbines is perceived and assessed by humans, what factors influence noise perception, and what measures are perceived to reduce noise in certain weather conditions.