Measurement

• Noise pollution is measured in decibels, a unit of measurement of noise, on a scale from 0 to 140 db. The noise from busy corporate office stands around 60 db. The noise from a large truck going anywhere from 65 to 100 mph is around 65 db. At 140 db, physical and mental damage occurs in the human nervous system. According to Renewable UK, a wind power advocacy group, the noise from wind farms ranges from 35 to 45 db.
  
  

Considerations

• The Scottish Office of the UK Environment Department measured noise pollution of wind farms across the UK. Their conclusion was that the decibel readings at wind farms, even at high wind speeds, only reached within the mid-30s, a level similar to a quiet room.
  
  

Example

• After public complaints about the noise of the turbines, the Institute for Noise Control Engineering conducted a study on the wind farms near Mars Hill, Maine. The researchers concluded that the noise could not have come from the turbines because the turbine noise only reached near 20 db. However, this level exceeded the maximum of 6 db that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection enforced on the Mars Hill wind farms.