• Specialty

  Noise / Vibration
  

• SECTOR

  Energy / Power
  Industrial
  Municipal
  

• TYPE

  Environmental Study
  Permitting / Compliance
  

• CLIENTELE

  Private Sector
  

• TIMESPAN

  2014

• LOCATION

  West Lafayette, IN

Purdue Energy Park

SERVICE:

Acoustic and Shadow Flicker Study

DESCRIPTION:

Tech performed acoustic modeling to demonstrate the maximum sound levels that would be produced when 12 GE 1.7 MW wind turbines were installed as the Purdue Energy Project Wind Farm. The wind turbines would be at a hub height of 80-meters. Tech also performed a study of the potential flicker effects that the wind turbines would produce. Tech made many conservative assumptions when performing both studies allowing for worst case scenarios to be produced. The sound study concluded that the wind turbines would be in compliance with the Tippecanoe County Zoning Ordinance limit of 55 dBA and no pure tone would be created. Shadow flicker at the nearest non-participating occupied dwellings outside the project boundaries was found to be 10 to 15 hours/year. Whereas these maximum flicker effects are well below the 30-hour/year guideline typically applied to renewable energy projects, shadow flicker should not prove annoying to any nearby residents.

 

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Key Points

• Tech performed a sound study and flicker study for the Purdue Energy Project Wind Farm, examining compliance with the Tippecanoe County Zoning Ordinance.
• Tech concluded that the sound produced from the turbines, and the flicker calculated, would comply with applicable regulations and guidelines.