As per the holding response (below) to the draft Irish wind energy development guidelines, Hayes McKenzie and others have significant concerns over the noise section of this document. Andy and Malcolm have contributed to this response to the consultation draft.
A number of people in our industry have significant concerns over the noise section of the Draft Revised Irish Wind Energy Development Guidelines. We have therefore submitted this holding response to the Irish Government pending a more complete response to the consultation draft.
A new draft of the long-awaited update to the 2006 Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government guidelines on wind energy development in Ireland was published on 12th December 2019. The noise section starts on Page 60 and there are two Technical Appendices at the end.
Following preliminary research for a major aircraft manufacturer, Hayes McKenzie carried out further and more definitive research in association with the Institute of Sound & Vibration Research, at the University of Southampton, on tonal content of aircraft noise. Essentially, the research shows that the characteristic 'buzz saw' noise, exhibited by some modern jet aircraft on take-off, is not picked up as 'tonal' by the measures which have been used for quantification and certification of aircraft noise since the 1960s. Alternative methods are proposed in the paper as a first step towards correcting this.