Wind Farm Noise
The overwhelming majority of wind turbines that were operational in Chile at the end of the year 2014 are located in the northern half of the country where population densities are low. Consequently, the number of people living in close proximity to wind turbines, where they could be affected by the operational noise emissions of wind farms, is still small.
Increasingly, however, wind farm developers are targeting the central and southern part of Chile, particularly from the O’Higgins to the Los Lagos Regions. This is the agricultural heartland of Chile, where houses and villages are scattered across the countryside, and wind farms will often be located within a few hundred meters of residences. Limiting operational noise impacts upon nearby local communities will therefore become a more challenging task in the short and medium term for the industry as a whole.
The GTER wind farm noise working group was established with the following principal objectives:
- Raise awareness of the issues inherent to the current wind farm noise control normative framework in Chile.
- Dissipate information among stakeholder on the state of industry best practice in other wind energy markets.
- Provide a platform for discussions, and ultimately reach consensus on industry best practice in Chile, as well as lobby the authorities, with the aim of shaping a normative framework specific to wind farm noise in Chile.
We will publish documents in support or as outcome of the above objectives below.