Falmouth Begins Deciding

Photo credit: Virginia Irvine

At the selectmen’s hearing tonight, the town moves away from the past year’s study mode and into deciding what to do about its turbine problem. As the Wind Turbine Options Process revealed, there are no ideal answers.

If the turbines continue to operate, even at night-time and high wind curtailment, families experiencing health effects will be forced to leave. And they will be leaving not just dream homes, but also their businesses and community. They may never recoup the losses to their physical well-being or to their financial health.

The town, meanwhile, has the dilemma of lost revenue with curtailment, and other costs if the turbines are dismantled. There is a clear win for the wind neighbors if the solar option is pursued. But any solution is daunting.

Nothing will be decided today, but many decisions will be set in motion from this point forward.