Understanding subjective and situational factors of wind turbine noise annoyance

One of the most relevant acceptance factors of local wind turbines (WTs) are noise emissions. To better understand why some residents experience stress effects from wind turbines a field study with strongly annoyed residents (SAR) was conducted. A convenience sample of residents (N = 148) in the proximity of a wind farm in Germany were interviewed using a standardised questionnaire. Objective features, such as number of visible WTs and distance to the nearest WT, could not explain the experienced noise annoyance substantially. Instead, SAR were characterised by a negative perception of both procedural as well as distributive fairness, the assumed decrease of property value due to the WTs, a negative attitude towards the local wind farm (but not to WTs in general), and higher noise sensitivity. Additionally, SAR reported to be affected daily during the night in their bedrooms, while other residents experience annoying situations more likely when they are directly exposed to WTs. Fast wind speeds, wet weather and, occasionally, frost or fog were associated with annoying situations. In accord with recent research, we recommend to increase consideration of participation and fairness in the initial planning of a wind farm to increase acceptance and reduce annoyance. Additionally, to reduce the fear of negative health impacts and to increase acceptance, mitigation measures depending on specific weather conditions seem to be promising.