Published: 16 July 2025
By Dr Emmet English, Acoustics Specialist
A major update to wind turbine noise assessment guidance has entered public consultation in the UK, sparking conversation across the acoustics and renewable energy communities—including here in Ireland, where current guidance remains rooted in the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines.
The Draft Assessment and Rating of Wind Turbine Noise, released in July 2025 by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, proposes a technically updated approach to managing wind turbine noise. While the draft guidance is not yet adopted, its implications may reach across borders, influencing regulatory expectations, developer practices, and potentially triggering a long-awaited update to Ireland’s own policy framework.
🚧 From ETSU-R-97 to a New Technical Era
For nearly three decades, ETSU-R-97 has formed the backbone of wind turbine noise assessments in the UK and, by default, much of Ireland. Supplemented by the IOA Good Practice Guide (2013), the ETSU methodology has shaped how developers, planners, and acousticians navigate wind farm consents.
The draft guidance reflects significant shifts in:
- Technological maturity: Modern turbines are quieter, larger, and more variable-speed than in the 1990s.
- Scientific evidence: New insights into Amplitude Modulation (AM) and its psychoacoustic effects have prompted more robust control measures.
- Planning policy alignment: The proposals support UK decarbonisation goals—particularly Clean Power 2030—and reflect international best practices.
🔄 What’s Changing?
Key proposed changes include:
- Single Noise Limit: Instead of different daytime and nighttime limits, a unified, conservative threshold would apply at all times, typically set by the lower daytime background noise limit.
- Raised Daytime Lower Bound: The minimum day-time threshold would rise from 35 dB to 37 dB LA90, a move seen as striking a better balance between amenity and energy goals.
- Amplitude Modulation Controls: The guidance proposes a structured approach to AM penalties, addressing tonal and thudding characteristics previously underregulated.
- Simplified Planning Conditions: Clearer technical clauses and condition templates to support enforcement and reduce ambiguity in planning.
🇮🇪 Implications for Ireland
While not directly applicable in Ireland, the new guidance may set a de facto benchmark. Irish planning authorities, currently referencing ETSU-R-97 and the IOA GPG in absence of updated national standards, may face renewed pressure to modernise.
For acoustics professionals, this could mean:
- More robust AM penalties in EIAs.
- A shift toward unified limits across time periods.
- Growing divergence between Irish and UK planning documentation—unless harmonisation follows.
With public consultation open until 29 August 2025, the UK’s approach offers a glimpse into the future. Ireland now faces a pivotal opportunity to reflect, consult, and evolve its approach to wind farm noise—one that balances community amenity, planning clarity, and the urgency of climate action.
Want to know more, please contact us today at dublin@amplitudeeacoustics.com.