The aim of the current paper is to present an approach to a wind turbine selection based on an annual wind measurements. The proposed approach led to a choice of an optimal device for the given wind conditions. The research was conducted for two potential wind farm locations, situated on the north of Poland. The wind measurements pointed out a suitability of the considered localizations for a wind farm development. Six types of wind turbines were investigated in each localization. The power of the wind turbines were in the range of 2.0 to 2.5 MW and with a medium size of the rotor being in the range of 82 to 100 m. The purpose of the research was to indicate a wind turbine with the lowest sensitivity to the variation of wind speed and simultaneously being most effective energetically. The Weibull density distribution was used in the analyses for three values of a shape coefficients k. The energy efficiency of the considered turbines were also assessed. In terms of the hourly distribution of the particular wind speeds, the most effective wind turbines were those with a nominal power of 2 MW, whereas the least effective were those with the nominal power of 2.3–2.5 MW. The novelty of the proposed approach is to analyze the productivity for many types of wind turbines in order to select the one which is the most effective energy producer. The analyses conducted in the paper allowed to indicate a wind turbine which generates the highest amount of energy independently on the wind speed variation.

This study aimed to determine whether the wind zone that characterizes a given area of the country in open area is reflected in the built-up area lying within the zone. Analysis included four Polish cities located in different wind zones. The two-parameter Weibull density distribution function was used to present the wind conditions at each location. Two 3 kW VAWT devices were selected to evaluate the productivity of wind turbines at the locations analyzed. It was shown that the wind zones characterizing the wind potential of a region in an open area have no significant influence on the wind conditions in the built-up area located in that area. It was determined that the study location’s did not exhibit wind potential that could be economically justified by a wind turbine. WTs in the city do not reach their nominal productivity. A decisive advantage of very light winds was observed (up to 2 m/s) and a large proportion of so-called atmospheric calms. It was shown that the installation of small wind turbines in an urbanized area requires a minimum of annual wind measurements at the exact location and height of each future turbine planned.

The justification for the construction of a wind farm depends primarily on two factors. The first one is the availability of the area with significant windiness; the second one is the environmental conditions in the selected location. The aim of this paper was to demonstrate the need for parallel noise and energy analyses during the design of a turbine location and selection of its type on the wind farm. The noise analyses were performed according to ISO 9613-2. A detailed analysis of wind conditions in a given location is a basic activity to determine the profitability of a wind power plant foundation. The main environmental impact of WF is noise emission. The examples of wind turbines’ selection optimally utilizing wind resources in two particular locations are presented. Six wind turbines were analyzed for each location. The choice of a wind turbine for the examined location was determined by the parameters of the device, the results of annual wind measurements, and acceptable noise levels in the environment. The three devices that met the acoustic criteria and the most energy efficient ones are indicated. We describe how a proper process of selecting a type of WT for a specific location should proceed.

This paper presents a study of the effect of the type of exterior cladding material of a building façade on the amount of sound reflection. It was verified whether there is a sound field undisturbed by reflections, similar to the free field, at a distance of 3 m from the building façade. Sound reflections from three building façade structures were tested: clinker brick, mineral plaster, and hard HPL. An equal geometry of the measuring field at selected real objects was used. It was determined that the differences in sound level results measured at distances up to 2 m and more than 2 m from the building façade are lower than the −3 dB correction specified in ISO 1996-2. Significant differences were observed comparing the measured sound level values in the undisturbed sound field with the levels recorded at a distance of 3 m from the building façade. It was proposed that the results of measurements made to control the levels of permissible noise in the environment should not be subject to the −3 dB correction.

Due to the growing demand for green energy, there is a shortage of land available for the location of wind farms. Therefore, the distances between turbines are being reduced, and the power of the turbines is being increased. This results in increased wake loss. The article describes a study of the impact of wind speed deficit and loss of wind turbine output due to wake loss on the decrease in energy efficiency of a wind farm. Two proposed wind farms, where the maximum number of turbines are located, were analyzed. The facilities were designed for implementation in Central Europe. The basic costs of construction and operation of the wind farms (WFs) were estimated. Based on the results of wind measurements and the performance characteristics of wind turbines, the productivity of the WFs was determined. The impact of removing individual turbines with the largest wake losses from the wind farm on the economic outcome of the project was studied. Evaluation criteria were proposed to quantify losses, which can serve as a benchmark for evaluating other wind farms. It was found that the higher the turbine’s power rating, the faster the payback resulting from the wake losses of a single turbine.

This paper presents a study of the tonality of sound emitted by a wind farm into the surrounding environment. The wind turbines installed at the site have a rated power of 3.0 MW. The aim of the study was to analyse the tonality of sounds in the environment at the nearest residential area. The issue of tonal noise near the wind farm was identified during routine periodic noise monitoring. An experienced survey team identified the phenomenon and carried out preliminary field analyses. Detailed studies were then carried out to identify the environmental hazard and failure-free operation of the turbines. The recorded acoustic events are described in detail and an in-depth analysis is carried out. An action plan has been implemented in consultation with the wind farm operator to reduce tonal sound emissions to the surrounding environment. As a result of these interventions, tonal noise from the wind turbines was successfully reduced. It was determined that the detection of the potential tonality of the sounds emitted by wind turbines should take place during the analysis (active listening) of the .wav file, synchronised with Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. Conducting tonality assessments solely during field measurements may lead to incorrect identification of tonal sources.