A Study on the Social Factors of Wind Noise Problem

: Case of the Wind Power Plants in the M City

Abstract

The Feed-in Tariff Scheme was introduced as part of the promotion of renewable energy in Japan. However, the quantitative expansion of renewable energy has raised various issues regarding the relationship with local communities, and thus the policies to address such issues are becoming increasingly important. This paper focuses on wind energy problems, in particular wind turbine noise problem, and a local community. There are a growing number of cases in which wind generation projects have been aborted due to such noise issues. To investigate the actual conditions involving complaints about noise related to wind power generation, the author conducted fieldwork in a community in M City having a wind generation project for which there have been continuous noise complaints..