EPA busts wind farm myth

The myth of the noisy wind farm has finally been put to rest, with the South Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) releasing a report showing that wind turbines produce less infrasound than air conditioners and traffic.

Anti-wind turbine campaigners would have us believe that wind farms create dangerous levels of infrasound - sound lower than 20 Hz - that can be harmful to people who live near wind turbines.

However, the EPA report found that infrasound from wind turbines is “insignificant” and that the worst infrasound offenders are air conditioners, traffic and noise generated by people.

“South Australia’s EPA is the most experienced regulatory authority in Australia when it comes to wind farm noise, and this new report provides hard evidence that wind turbines do not cause increased levels of infrasound in surrounding areas, neither inside people’s homes nor outdoors,” said Clean Energy Council (CEC) Policy Director Russell Marsh.

The lowest levels of infrasound were recorded at one of the houses closest to a wind farm, whereas the highest levels were found in an urban office building, Marsh said.

“This is yet another clean bill of health for wind farms, which have been proven time and time again to cause no negative health impacts from noise,” Marsh said. “This is great news for clean and safe renewable wind energy and further reassurance for communities near wind farms.”

The EPA report is available to download from www.epa.sa.gov.au.