The Ministry of the Environment has compiled the results of a questionnaire survey it conducted to ascertain the facts of noise and low-frequency sound caused by wind power facilities installed in Japan.
Of the 389 sites of wind power facilities nationwide for which responses were received, the survey found that 64 had received complaints about noise and low-frequency sound. The Ministry intends to conduct the survey on an on-going basis and shed light on the facts of noise and low-frequency sound.
The subjects of the survey were wind power facilities generating power for on-premise use or sales that were in operation as of April 1 and had a gross output of at least 20 kW. Responses were received from 186 enterprises.
The survey revealed that the incidence of complaints rose along with the rated output. The rate of complaint incidence was less than 10% among facilities with an output of less than 1 MW, but increased to about 30% among those of 1 MW or higher output. In terms of the number of wind turbines per facility, almost half of the facilities with 10 or more turbines were getting complaints.
