Noise
Wind Turbine Noise
Noise from utility scale wind turbines and wind farms has resulted in numerous complaints from nearby residents worldwide. Many who have studied this problem have concluded that the only safe solution is to establish setbacks of at least a mile and a quarter.
Once installed, there is nothing that can be done to mitigate the noise short of shutting the turbine down. Furthermore, given the fact that the noise level is constantly changing as a function of wind speed and direction, collecting data to prove compliance is extremely labor intensive and prohibitively expensive. Read more…
Falmouth Wind Turbine Syndrome Victims Interviewed
Betsy Andersen
Dr. Nina Pierpont continues her series of interviews with Falmouth sufferers of wind turbine syndrome. Betsy Andersen is interviewed along with Mark Cool, Neil Andersen, Ed Hobart and John Ford.
Shelburne, ZBA hearing hearing postponed
Shelburne residents have a chance to challenge the 8-turbine commercial wind project planned for Mount Massaemet. In fact, the hearing on 11/17/11 before the Zoning Board of Appeals could be their only opportunity. The 420-foot-tall 2.5 megawatt turbines will bring an industrial landscape to overlook the picturesque setting for this small town of almost 2000 people.
Will the ZBA issue a special permit for a project that town residents seem unaware of? The town has a 35-foot height restriction for structures. The area where turbines will be sited is zoned residential/agricultural rather than industrial. Diane Broncaccio, reporting for The Recorder, quotes ZBA member Theodore Merrill as saying in August, “It’s very clear that this project doesn’t even come close to meeting our zoning.”
Check with the Shelburne town offices to confirm the location, as conflicting meeting sites have been posted. If the ZBA meeting is held in the Shelburne Buckland Elementary School at 7:30 pm it will overlap with a special town meeting scheduled for 7:00 pm on the same night at the same location. The school is located at 75 Mechanic St. in Shelburne Falls, MA.
Frederick Field Jr. is the private developer of the Mount Massaemet Windfarm, Inc.
Dr. Nina Pierpont Interviews Neil Anderson – Wind Turbine Syndrome
Catch this BLIP TV series installment when Dr. Nina Pierpont Interviews Falmouth MA resident Neil Anderson about Wind Turbine Syndrome.
“About this episode
TV-UN Dr. Nina Pierpont, MD (Johns Hopkins) PhD (Yale) interviews Falmouth resident Neil Anderson who has been having a strange ailment plague him ever since a Vestas 1.65 Megawatt turbine went up in his neighborhood July 2010. The interview takes place in September 2011. Neil feels the turbine is destroying his life. Dr. Pierpont inquires about his symptoms and his ability to carry on a normal life now.”
Release Date: Sep 24, 2011
Runtime: 16:35
Wind Siting Bill hearing postponed to October 20, 2011
Photo credit, Wayne Klug
The WESRA hearing will not take place on Monday 9/26. It has been postponed to October 20th. The location has not been determined. To see the legislative hearing schedule, use the link from the mass.gov website, Events List – Committee Hearing. To see the position of Wind Wise ~ Massachusetts on the wind energy siting bill, view the legislation and testimony pages.
Events
Catch Windfall
Berkshire residents and those in the hilltowns have several opportunities in the next week to view the award-winning film about a rural NY town facing down a wind turbine menace. On Saturday 9/24/11 at 7:30 pm the film will be screened at the Berkshire Museum on South St. in Pittsfield, with a reception to follow. On Tuesday 9/27/11, also in Pittsfield, Berkshire Community College hosts a showing at 12:10 in room K-110. Then on Saturday 10/1/11, Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls is the venue for a 7:30 pm showing. Don’t miss this well-crafted documentary.
A Not-so-welcome Sign
Miss Hearing
The second hearing on the wind siting bill has been called off and no new date has been scheduled.
Testimony to TUE: reject bill expediting wind turbines
Wayne Klug told the energy joint committee, “Unlike some of the other speakers I’ve heard this afternoon, I don’t believe that this bill can be fixed or revised; it cannot be tweaked; it can only be rejected.”
Spokespeople for reputable Berkshire environmental and development agencies illustrated why the bill is flawed:
Tad Ames of the Berkshire Natural Resources Council cited the failure of the bill’s authors to fix omissions in spite of these things having been raised in the past:
- standards should precede passage and inform regulations
- no matter what decision the local siting makes, the wind developer can go to the state siting board for a permit, even if the decision is to reject the proposal
- citizens in abutting communities should have a right to be involved in the process.
He pointed out that the delays in projects like Berkshire Wind are frequently caused by the developer’s mistakes and not regulatory delay.
Nate Karns of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission emphasized his organization has “been requesting standards for 7 years.” He said this lack is very troubling and helps to “feed the regional psychosis” where western Mass. is suspicious “of what Boston has in store for us.” With a siting bill in place, he argued, “if you have a wind resource, you’ll have a turbine.”
Providing comic relief, Andrew Wells offered tongue-in-cheek testimony–adopting the persona of a wind developer, “As I look out from shining turbine to shining turbine, I see that our job here is done.”
Testimony on industrial wind siting bills–Hancock–9/7/11
Thanks to all the WWMA members and many others who opposed the wind siting bills at the hearing before the joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy in Hancock on September 7, 2011.
Leading off was Richard Pierce of Granville who said the siting bills create a clear mandate to provide wind energy and an “unprecedented consolidation of power” in the executive branch of state government. This was the first of many calls for preserving “Home Rule” and local control of wind siting decisions.
Elizabeth Smola, MD of Brimfield offered sobering medical testimony, reporting the pathological effects of vibro-acoustic disease associated with industrial wind turbines. She pointed out that European countries are adopting the standard of keeping turbines at least one and a half miles from residences. Watch the Brandon Walker piece from Your News Now: Public hearing on wind bill
Jane Pinsley and Linda Smith of Blandford offered thought-provoking testimony. Pinsley told the committee they are witnessing a revolution in progress. When the townspeople of Blandford defeated a proposed bylaw amendment by a vote of 139 to 12, it served as an example of the “thoughtful deliberation that characterizes small town government at its best.” She went on to say that people “stood two inches taller after that vote. Quality of life became a salable item in the town” and has brought in new business. “Where does the money come from? People made it elsewhere and choose to spend it here.” Turbines would ruin the quality of life people seek in rural Massachusetts.
Linda Smith objected to the characterization offered by Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard Sullivan that state government should “move at the speed of business.” She said that “businesses sell a product and government represents people,” and she asked, “if Governor Patrick is not choosing to represent us, is he choosing to sell a product?” which in this case is industrial wind energy. She noted that a product with the meager 10% efficiency of wind turbines could not qualify for an Energy Star rating, but would destroy mountain tops and clear cut 40-foot-roadways.
First Do No Harm
Brewster resident JOYCE P. McCONNELL’s OP ED in CapeCodOnline captures the essence of recent calls by Wind Wise ~ Massachusetts to suspend new turbine siting. “In siting turbines, first do no harm” the headline declares. McConnell’s examples of places in Brewster where turbines will do harm (with audible and low-frequency noise) support the need to study first and site later.
Legislators Use Berkshire Hearing Venue to Sell Wind Bill
On September 7, 2011 Wind Wise members will be taking a day off from work and getting their children to school early, on what is for many communities the second day of the school year. They will be on their way to Hancock for the first of two public hearings on the controversial bill to expedite land-based wind projects. The 10:00 a.m. meeting will be held at the Jiminy Peak ski resort, site of a 1.5 MW turbine.
The Wind Wise group has characterized the Committee’s decision as a transparent attempt to promote the siting bill—H01775 and S01666—which stalled in the last session.
More information on the Press Packet page.
Wind Wise ~ Massachusetts 