The impact of supporting tower on wind turbine noise emission

Abstract

The exploitation of a wind farm has a minor effect on the environment, however wind turbines generate noise, which is the negative side effect of their work. This article points out significant differences in the results of infrasound and acoustic noise measurements, registered near wind farms depending on the type of supporting structure of a turbine. There are presented measurements’ results registered near wind turbines of different supporting structures (lattice or tubular) and different heights. There are not many wind turbines in Europe with lattice towers. The analysis below is a valuable source of information on the impact of lattice towers’ turbines on acoustic environment. Local, infrasound and acoustic measurements near chosen wind turbines enabled to make comparisons and draw conclusions. It has been noticed that high wind turbines with lattice towers emit much lower levels of acoustic noise that those with tubular towers.