Too loud: Hesse to check all wind turbines for noise violations 

[Zu laut: Hessen muss alle Windräder überprüfen]

Noise makes you sick, even that of otherwise so clean wind turbines.

It was hoped that the ground swallows up some of their noise. But it doesn’t.

So the state of Hesse now has to put all the wind turbines under the microscope.

The Minister of the Environment doesn’t need that which prevents her from advancing in the energy transition. But she cannot ignore people who suffer from noise.

So loud are they when you are very close. Seven tall wind turbines stand on the Mardorf hill at Amöneburg. This wind park will probably be among the first ones to be re-tested. Some of the turbines may be louder than current noise control standards allow.

Local resident Thorsten Fuhrmann doesn’t want to hear the wind turbines any more even if they were 2 km away.

You can’t get used to the rhythmic noise, which is getting stronger especially at night. He wakes up almost every night. “They make always: It is very bad in winter when there are no leaves on the trees and the sound can penetrate seriously. So the noise is really loud and penetrating.”

The citizens’ group “Es reicht!” (“It’s enough!”) regards it as a success that the state government of Hesse responds to their struggles now. For 2 years their complains were not taken seriously by the regional council of Giessen, says Annette Schick.

When 4 residents complained several times with the help of a lawyer, the Ministry of the Environment, suddenly reacted quickly.

The hope for the citizens’ group: “One can then achieve that perhaps the current wind turbines will be turned down at certain wind speeds. For some people, it is very difficult to sleep with open windows. If you hear it, it is very noisy. At least a night shutdown would be our great hope.”

According to the Minister of the Environment, all wind turbines in Hesse are now to be examined for sound propagation.

The background: New rules developed by a federal and state commission because the previous noise forecasts were questionable. So far, it was assumed in noise calculations that the ground dampens wind turbine noise up to 5 dB. But that’s obviously wrong, at least in mountainous areas, according to experts.

For the opposition Free Democratic Party (FDP), this has been a gross blunder of the authorities. The Minister of the Environment should have reacted long ago. The federal requirement exists since November 2017.

FDP demands: “Wind turbines that do not have a proper approval and are harmful to the citizens’ health – regarding each individual case – must be shut down.”

Today, with cameras rolling, the green Minister of the Environment did not want to comment. On request, however, she let HESSENSCHAU know:

“If it should be found that the legal noise values are exceeded, it is generally sufficient to operate the wind turbines in the night-time (22.00–6.00) with a reduced output and reduced noise. A shutdown is not required usually.”

In total, over 1,000 wind turbines must be checked. According to the minister it is assumed that only a small part of the wind turbines would have to be limited in their future night-time operation.

Thorsten Fuhrmann from Erfurtshausen hopes that this also includes the wind park on his doorstep.

A complete shutdown at night would be his preferred option.

English subtitles: Vind-Alarm-Danmark.eu & Friends-Against-Wind.org