Our team is very conscientious in ensuring that our environmental analyses comply with state and county permitting standards. National Wind Assessments takes full advantage of the latest sophisticated modeling software in creating our calculations.

The environmental issues calculated include noise (decibel), shadow flicker, zones of visual influence, in addition to presenting a visual impact of the complete wind farm.

Noise

DECIBEL, is utilized to define “Noise Sensitive Areas” based upon wind turbine positioning, noise emission data, and differences in elevation between wind turbines and the nearest neighbor. All calculations must meet specific state and federal noise requirements. Calculations reflect the cumulative noise effect influencing area dwellings by multiple turbines rather than calculating sound from individual turbines. This makes it easier to calculate the optimal wind farm layout. National Wind Assessments is very careful to ensure each wind farm has the appropriate setbacks from area residences, ensuring all noise issues are effectively mitigated.

Shadow Flicker

SHADOW is utilized to compute the number of hours per year a residence would be exposed to shadows created by the rotation of nearby turbine rotors. A complete simulation of the sun’s path throughout the entire year is documented. To be impacted at all, a residence needs to have a fairly small window that is facing a turbine at an angle that catches the sun as it rises or sets. This is a very specific set of characteristics that would need to be met for a house to even experience a few hours of flicker every year. Because it is so specific, we can integrate it into the layout and site the turbines in a way that mitigates the casting of shadow flicker onto any homes in the area. Even small adjustments in siting can drastically reduce the level of shadow flicker experienced.

Landscape

Visual impact calculations are made via 3-D visual modeling software. We can create 3-D pictures of the project in a virtual landscape at different vantage points. Generating and displaying 3-D landscape elements such as forests, buildings, and lakes in our models helps us create a realistic, correct visual impression of the wind farm. This helps us to evaluate how the project can fit into the landscape in the best possible way by avoiding any land obstructions.