Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(7), 753; doi:10.3390/ijerph14070753
Effect of Wind Farm Noise on Local Residents’ Decision to Adopt Mitigation Measures
Anabela Botelho 1, Pedro Arezes 2,*
, Carlos Bernardo 3,4, Hernâni Dias 4 and Lígia M. Costa Pinto 5
, Carlos Bernardo 3,4, Hernâni Dias 4 and Lígia M. Costa Pinto 51
Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering, and Tourism, University of Aveiro, and GOVCOPP, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
2
ALGORITMI Research Center, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
3
Institute of Polymers and Composites/I3N, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
4
PIEP-Innovation in Polymer Engineering, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
5
NIMA-Department of Economics, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 3 May 2017 / Accepted: 6 June 2017 / Published: 11 July 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscapes and Human Health)
Abstract
Wind turbines’ noise is frequently pointed out as the reason for local communities’ objection to the installation of wind farms. The literature suggests that local residents feel annoyed by such noise and that, in many instances, this is significant enough to make them adopt noise-abatement interventions on their homes. Aiming at characterizing the relationship between wind turbine noise, annoyance, and mitigating actions, we propose a novel conceptual framework. The proposed framework posits that actual sound pressure levels of wind turbines determine individual homes’ noise-abatement decisions; in addition, the framework analyzes the role that self-reported annoyance, and perception of noise levels, plays on the relationship between actual noise pressure levels and those decisions. The application of this framework to a particular case study shows that noise perception and annoyance constitutes a link between the two. Importantly, however, noise also directly affects people’s decision to adopt mitigating measures, independently of the reported annoyance. View Full-TextKeywords:
wind farms; noise annoyance; mitigation measures; sound pressure levels; environmental impacts
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
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Botelho, A.; Arezes, P.; Bernardo, C.; Dias, H.; Pinto, L.M.C. Effect of Wind Farm Noise on Local Residents’ Decision to Adopt Mitigation Measures. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 753.
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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health
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