Noise complaints force Dong to stop night-time installations

UK: Dong has had to stop its night-time piling at the Westermost Rough offshore wind farm off England's east coast due to excessive noise.

by Patrick Smith 7 May 2014

The first monopile being installed at the project
The decision comes as a result of complaints from local residents that the noise from piling activities constituted a nuisance.

Noise from the work on the project, which is 8 kilometres from shore, led regional authority the East Riding of Yorkshire Council to meet with Dong to call for a solution to be found.

Dong brought in independent noise specialists to monitor the situation over the past six weeks, and the sound levels were found to be sufficient for action to be taken.

As a result, the developer has agreed that it will no longer carry out installation work between the hours of 11pm and 7am.

A Dong spokesperson said it is unlikely  there will be any significant delays to the project's progress.

Once complete, Westermost Rough will be made up of 35 Siemens 6MW turbines. Eight of the monopiles are yet to be installed.