Wind Farm Planning Applications
MAS Environmental have dealt with a vast number of wind farm and wind turbine planning applications and continue to receive a large number of requests for advice in relation to these planning issues. Although MAS do still provide advice on wind farms and wind turbines at the application stage, with increasing complaints arising our focus is shifting to operational wind farm and wind turbine noise including research in to and solutions to existing noise issues.
The guidance still formally approved by the government for the assessment of wind farm noise, ETSU-R-97, was written in 1996. Despite broad criticism of the document, it is still in place as official guidance and many technical issues not strictly covered in the guidance appear to be ignored in many cases by some industry advisers and those who decide on acceptability. Since 2009 proposed revisions to the guidance, in the form of an article published in the Institute of Acoustics magazine, were introduced and appear to have been broadly accepted in and out of the acoustics community. This is despite independent research highlighting concerns with its methodology where importantly key changes were not based on field measurements but untested theoretical assumptions.
If you are seeking advice in relation to a wind farm or wind turbine planning application then please fill in the enquiry form below. We do receive a high number of wind farm related enquiries and the more detail provided the easier it will be for us to respond promptly. Please note that as noted above, the current climate is very much in favour of wind development in some cases dismissing important issues of noise impact. We are concerned with the legacy this may create.