You have some interesting ideas. I spend a fair amount of time near wind generators (not on a day to day basis, but hours at a time).
At a few hundred yards, they can't be heard.
Even right underneath them it isn't a big issue.
I have yet to see anyone suggest building on in someone's back yard such that they would hear the blades. Many in the upper midwest are on farmland and not within a hundred yards of a residence.
Some relevant info on higher power turbines from page 17 bottom of the following document:
http://www.town.manchester.vt.us/windforum/aesthetics/WindTurbineNoiseIssues.pdf
Therein is some pretty darn good research for those with technical interest and the willingness to pore through and digest the information presented. Still not a lot of info megawatt rated systems.
A study of sound produced by a 10 kW Bergey wind turbine at Halibut Point State Park in
Rockport, MA, includes measured sound pressure levels under a variety of wind conditions and at
a variety of distances from the wind turbine base (Tech Environmental, 1998). The study showed
that under some conditions the wind turbine noise at 600 ft (182 m) from the wind turbine base
increased noise levels by 13 dB(A). The study estimated that a buffer zone of 1600 ft be required
to meet Massachusetts noise regulations! Finally, the study also mentioned that under high wind
My experience from up close is about 20 yrs old, near large wind generators. I presume blade design has gotten better over the years.
Here is some hard data:
BWEA - Are wind turbines noisy?
For small farm sized wind turbines. They are reasonable.
For large commercial megawatt wind farms the story is different. Hard published data is not easy to find. Here is an excerpt from an article in the Grand Forks Herald.com
"A growing body of research, critics say, raises questions about the chronic health effects of noise and low-frequency vibrations caused by wind turbines.
In Europe, which has a much longer history of large-scale wind farms than the United States, some expert panels recommend much longer setbacks.
The French Academy of Medicine, for example, recommends setbacks of a mile, the minimum distance sought by the Stillings and others who raised concerns about the Luverne project.
Some researchers contend turbines can cause earaches, dizziness, heart palpitations and sleep deprivation with diminishing brain function, findings that are disputed by other researchers.
Documenting a possible causal link in chronic health conditions, which take years to develop, means people could be living at risk until results become conclusive, Dennis Stillings says.
“The studies on the sound are inadequate,” he adds. “You can tell when you study the literature they avoid a serious discussion. They avoid the noise issue.”"
The full article is:
NOISY WIND: Residents near N.D. wind farm project raising voices over noise pollutions | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota
Cheers.