Wind Turbine Sound Setbacks: Ordinances (2024) and Extrapolated Trends, 115 Hub Height, 170 Rotor Diameter

This dataset provides a comprehensive assessment of wind turbine sound setbacks for all residential structures across the contiguous United States (CONUS). A sound setback is defined as the minimum distance required between a residential structure and a hypothetical turbine installation site such that modeled sound levels received at the residence do not exceed local sound ordinances, typically expressed in A-weighted decibels (dBA). In modeling sound pressure levels from each turbine location, the highest sound level at each distance step, regardless of directional variation, was applied, which aligns with current industry practice.

The sound setback data are provided in GeoTIFF (TIF) format, with corresponding PNG files available for visualization. Raster data are presented at a spatial resolution of 90 meters. Each grid cell contains a value ranging from 0 to 1, indicating the proportion of developable land within that cell under applicable sound ordinance constraints. A value of 0 denotes complete development restriction, while a value of 1 indicates full permissibility. The wind turbine parameters used in the sound modeling were a hub-height of 115 meters and a rotor diameter of 170 meters, as obtained from the 2024 Annual Technology Baseline (ATB). Two siting scenarios are included: a reference scenario and a limited siting scenario.