Infrasound, sometimes referred to as low frequency sound or subsonic, describes sound waves with a frequency below the lower limit of human audibility. Hearing becomes gradually less sensitive as frequency decreases, so for humans to perceive infrasound, the sound pressure must be sufficiently high. Although the ear is the primary organ for sensing low sound, at higher intensities it is possible to feel infrasound vibrations in various parts of the body.
Environmental noise is an accumulation of noise pollution that occurs outside. This noise can be caused by transport, industrial, and recreational activities.
Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation. Today, wind power is generated almost completely with wind turbines, generally grouped into wind farms and connected to the electrical grid.
Electric power systems consist of generation plants of different energy sources, transmission networks, and distribution lines. Each of these components can have environmental impacts at multiple stages of their development and use including in their construction, during the generation of electricity, and in their decommissioning and disposal. These impacts can be split into operational impacts and construction impacts. All forms of electricity generation have some form of environmental impact, but coal-fired power is the dirtiest. This page is organized by energy source and includes impacts such as water usage, emissions, local pollution, and wildlife displacement.
A wind farm or wind park, or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an extensive area. Wind farms can be either onshore or offshore.
Hyperacusis is an increased sensitivity to sound and a low tolerance for environmental noise. Definitions of hyperacusis can vary significantly; it often revolves around damage to or dysfunction of the stapes bone, stapedius muscle or tensor tympani (eardrum). It is often categorized into four subtypes: loudness, pain, annoyance, and fear. It can be a highly debilitating hearing disorder.
Noise health effects are the physical and psychological health consequences of regular exposure to consistent elevated sound levels. Noise from traffic, in particular, is considered by the World Health Organization to be one of the worst environmental stressors for humans, second only to air pollution. Elevated workplace or environmental noise can cause hearing impairment, tinnitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance, and sleep disturbance. Changes in the immune system and birth defects have been also attributed to noise exposure.
Te Rere Hau is a wind farm owned and operated by New Zealand Windfarms Ltd. It is situated on the Tararua Ranges, approximately 11 km east of Palmerston North in New Zealand.
The Waubra wind farm is located on both sides of the Sunraysia Highway 35 km north-west of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. Upon its completion in July 2009, it was the largest wind farm in Australia and was the largest wind farm by number of turbines and total capacity in the southern hemisphere.
Wind power is the fastest-growing renewable energy technology in Scotland, with 11,482 megawatts (MW) of installed wind power capacity by Q1 2023. This included 9,316 MW from onshore wind in Scotland and 2,166 MW of offshore wind generators.
The Bald Hills Wind Farm is an operating wind farm located approximately 10 km south east of Tarwin Lower in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The Bald Hills Wind Farm site covers approximately 1,750ha of largely cleared cattle and sheep grazing farmland. The turbines are located in three distinct areas, one to the west and one to the east of Tarwin Lower Waratah Road, and one near the end of Bald Hills Road.
Idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEI) are medical syndromes with no proven cause, but which the affected people attribute to various environmental situations. The most common forms are multiple chemical sensitivity, electromagnetic hypersensitivity (electricity), and wind turbine syndrome (noise).
The environmental impact of electricity generation from wind power is minor when compared to that of fossil fuel power. Wind turbines have some of the lowest global warming potential per unit of electricity generated: far less greenhouse gas is emitted than for the average unit of electricity, so wind power helps limit climate change. Wind power consumes no fuel, and emits no air pollution, unlike fossil fuel power sources. The energy consumed to manufacture and transport the materials used to build a wind power plant is equal to the new energy produced by the plant within a few months.
Lamberts is a tiny village in the parish of Saint Lucy, Barbados close to the border with Saint Peter. The location is best known for the experimental wind tower that was supposed to become part of a larger windfarm built in the 1980s.
Waterloo wind farm is east of Manoora, South Australia. Waterloo Wind Farm is owned by Palisade Investment Partners and Northleaf Capital. The site is operated by Palisade Integrated Management Services.
Den Brook Wind Farm is a windfarm in Devon, England. The windfarm is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south-east of North Tawton and 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south-west of Bow, and comprises nine 2 MW wind turbines, each 120 metres (390 ft) high. Developer Renewable Energy Systems (RES) received planning consent for the project in December 2009, following a long planning process which included two public inquiries and a judicial review.
Askam and Ireleth Wind Farm is a group of 7 turbines located two kilometers east of the village Askam and Ireleth, on the southern slopes of Hare Slack Hill. Work on the turbines started in late 1998, and the wind farm took eight months to complete. It first generated energy in July, 1999.
The Waubra Foundation was an Australian lobby that opposes wind farms and promotes the controversial wind turbine syndrome. The foundation was created by Peter Mitchell, a director of several oil and gas companies. The foundation described itself as an advocacy group for properly conducted, multidisciplinary research into alleged health problems reported by people living in the vicinity of wind turbines and other industrial uses. The foundation is named after the town of Waubra, Victoria Australia, but is not linked to it in any other way. The town is home to the 128 turbines at Waubra Wind Farm.
Shirley Wind is a wind farm in the Shirley section of Glenmore, Brown County, Wisconsin. The site, which opened in 2011, includes eight Nordex 2.5 (MW) wind turbines, each about 500 feet (150 m) tall. Originally developed by Emerging Energies LLC, it is owned by Duke Energy.
