Fig 1: Wind Turbines at a distance, From: https://wall.alphacoders.com/by_sub_category.php?id=201421&name=Wind+Turbine+Wallpapers&filter=4K+Ultra+HD

 

While preparing for a presentation on green energy, I came across an article that mentioned how wind turbines are potential sources of noise pollution. For background, wind turbines are large structures found on land or offshore spaces where the wind is conveniently accessible and present (fig 1). Through the medium of wind, the rotor blades of wind turbines spin, generating electricity (National Geographic, n.d.). Although sustainable in developing clean energy, it has potential issues regarding noise pollution on wildlife.

According to Teff-Seker et al. (2022), low-frequency noise generated by wind turbines can affect the natural acoustic environment, thereby influencing wildlife behaviours. Such noises can be in the form of mechanical noise during maintenance, and aerodynamic noise produced by wind passing through turbines. It was found that noise from wind turbines can cause changes in species’ demography, composition and habitation. This is more so towards avian species as compared to terrestrial animals. The article also mentioned that the aspect of noise pollution from wind turbines is often disregarded during Environment Impact Assessments (EIA). This would lead to greater environmental disruption to the local wildlife where wind turbines are situated at (Teff-Seker et al., 2022). Therefore, the paper brought attention to the need for greater planned regulations to reduce wind turbine noises on wildlife through a more inclusive EIA to noise pollution. As a relatively limited researched topic, more is also needed to better understand the effects of wind turbine noises on wildlife.

 

Reference

Teff-Seker, Y., Berger-Tal, O., Lehnardt, Y., & Teschner, N. (2022). Noise pollution from wind turbines and its effects on wildlife: A cross-national analysis of current policies and planning regulations. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 168, 112801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112801

Wind Energy. (n.d.). https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/wind-energy/