CEC says EPA report dismisses myth about wind farm infrasound by Staff Reporter

Just in: The Clean Energy Council has welcomed a report released by the South Australian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) that it says has finally put to rest a common myth about wind farms – that they create dangerous levels of infrasound, or sound too low for humans to hear, that can be harmful to people who live near wind turbines.

The CEC said in a statement that the EPA report found that the level of infrasound from wind turbines is insignificant and no different to any other source of noise, and that the worst contributors to household infrasound are air-conditioners, traffic and noise generated by people.

Here is the rest of the CEC statement. The full report can be found here:

Clean Energy Council Policy Director Russell Marsh said the report provided some much-needed clarity in a debate that has often been clouded by misinformation.

"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," Mr Marsh said.

"The study included houses in rural and urban areas, houses both adjacent to a wind farm and away from turbines, and measured the levels of infrasound with the wind farms operating and also switched off.

"There were no noticeable differences in the levels of infrasound under all these different conditions. In fact, 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."

The EPA's study concluded that the level of infrasound at houses near wind turbines was no greater than in other urban and rural environments, and stated that "the contribution of wind turbines to the measured infrasound levels is insignificant in comparison with the background level of infrasound in the environment".