Wind Farm Noise Monitoring
Mainland Greece
The wind farm is located in central Greece and consists of six 100 metre diameter wind turbines with a total rated output power of 12MW. It has been operational since early 2017 but at the start was causing complaints from people in a nearby village which lies to the north.
We were contacted by the operator, which is an energy production company in Greece, who requested measurements to establish that the wind farm was operating within the relevant noise limits which apply in Greece. Prior to the measurements a site visit was carried out to establish appropriate monitoring locations in the village, wind turbine noise calculations were carried out and a methodology for the measurements was agreed with the operator.
Because of concerns about noise, and prior to the measurements being carried out, the turbines were fitted with ‘trailingedge serrations’ to reduce the noise output.
The measurements were carried out over a 6-week period to ensure that data was obtained for wind directions corresponding to the highest level of noise received in the village. Hayes McKenzie were assisted by ChristosKantarelis, an ex-colleague of Andy’s, who lives and works as an acoustic consultant in Athens, to ensure things went smoothly at the site.
The site was demonstrated to be meeting the relevant noise limit following the installation of the trailing edge serrations for worst case propagation conditions towards the village. We have heard from the operator that the noise problems are now resolved.