EMD part of DecoWind: new tools for smart regulations of wind turbine noise – The Innovation Foundation invests 13 million DKK in the project

If Denmark is going to be independent of fossil fuels in 2050, the amount of green energy must be substantially enhanced. Wind energy will be the greatest contributor and the amount of energy from wind turbines will have to increase even further to reach this target. Onshore wind turbines are still significantly cheaper and easier to maintain than offshore turbines. Consequently, energy from onshore wind turbines is still more cost-effective.

Often noise requirements for wind turbines causes a limit to the amount of energy, which can be produced. To investigate this issue, DTU Wind Energy, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, FORCE Technology and EMD International will collaborate on the project DecoWind, which is supported by Innovation Fund Denmark with 13.4 million DKK.

With the project, the consortium wishes to investigate wind turbine noise and develop modulation tools for global use in order to make more precise noise calculations, making it possible to produce more energy without generating more noise. How can we increase the annual energy production without increasing the amount of noise from the wind turbines? That is the main question to be addressed by the DecoWind consortium.

The new models will not only be used in Denmark. Through the widespread windPRO-software, EMD International A/S will make the models available for users world-wide. Thomas Sørensen, acoustics-responsible at EMD, explains:

“Wind turbine noise is a hot topic world-wide and with the new models we can offer operators, planners and authorities a solution that both optimizes the production and improves the protection of people living close to turbines,” says Thomas Sørensen, acoustics-responsible, EMD International A/S.

The project will run until end of 2021.