Hepburn Community Wind Farm is a two turbine project located near Daylesford in Central Victoria.
The wind farm was the first in Australia to be built and owned by a community co-operative. It has a generating capacity of 4.1 MW.
Client
Hepburn Community Wind Park Co-operative Limited
Location
Leonards Hill, VIC
Completion date
2011
Scope of Services
Our work on this project involved preparation of the planning application Noise impact assessment, which included measurement of background noise.
We also prepared evidence for a planning panel (VCAT) hearing.
Once the wind farm became operational, we carried out a staged noise commissioning campaign comprising measurements at various locations and across different power generating arrangements at the wind farm.
The design encompassed 2 turbines for a total capacity of 4.1 MW.
Challenges
As is common with wind farm noise commissioning projects, measurements at some locations were influenced by noise extraneous to the wind farm. In the case of the specific project, background noise levels at selected locations were affected by significant insect noise. These influences were investigated in detail at Hepburn Wind Farm by collecting more detailed sound level data. The detailed data, which included one-third octave band levels, was used to identify periods of high level insect noise. This information was used to provide a more accurate assessment of wind farm sound levels during the commissioning study.
More information about identifying extraneous noise in wind farm noise measurements can be found here.
"Marshall Day Acoustics provided invaluable expertise throughout the entire development of our community wind farm project, from initial project planning to commissioning and proof-of-compliance. In addition to providing thoroughly professional technical services, Marshall Day provided valuable assistance to our award-winning initiatives to bring along the whole community, and did so within the financial constraints of our community project."
