6M FRAUD ALLEGED FINANCING FALMOUTH WIND TURBINE II

The Town of Falmouth had used the General Electric 1.5 megawatt wind turbine with a rating of 103.5 decibels of noise as a model to build their first wind turbine called Wind I.

General Electric a domestic turbine company refused to build a single wind turbine in Falmouth because of setback issues. The town then went forward and puchased two larger foreign made turbines louder than the GE turbine. The turbines are called Falmouth Wind I and II. Both are Vestas V 82 turbines. Falmouth Wind II has a federal stimulus ARRA loan given to it with no noise study or Special Permit 240-166 as stated in the waiver request to the federal EPA application.

The Town of Falmouth bought their first wind turbine a Vestas V-82 commercial 1.65 megawatt wind turbine called Falmouth Wind I from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.The MassCEC admitted four years later they made acoustic noise “mistakes” placing the first wind turbine. The original wind studies had extrapolated known figures.

The Vestas noise of 110 decibels has never been inputed in any wind studies.

The Town of Falmouth after the refusal of General Electric a domestic wind turbine company then went forward asking for 6 million in stimulus ARRA funds from the federal government to buy a second foreign made wind turbine called Falmouth Wind II also a Vestas V-82 turbine like Falmouth Wind I.

In 2010 the Town of Falmouth filed a waiver of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to buy a Vestas V-82 commercial wind turbine in the 1.65 megwatt class larger than the GE wind turbine. The town at the time was in posession of a warning letter from Vestas wind company that their turbine generates 110 decibels of noise twice as loud as the GE wind turbine. The warning letter remained hidden from the public for 5 years. The federal government was never made aware of the 110 decibels of noise warning the town had in its files.

The Vestas warning letter link Aug 2010 showing the 110 decibels of noise :
http://www.windaction.org/posts/41357-vestas-raises-concerns-about-turbine-noise-letter#.Ve9oyhFVikp

We know the Town of Falmouth in its application to buy a foreign wind turbine with federal stimulus ARRA funds told the federal EPA they were going to file special permit 240-166 to build the wind turbine.

The town never filed the wind turbine special permit 240-166 and never conducted a noise modeling test for Falmouth Wind II or a wind model for both turbines operating together.

Here is the most important part of the Federal EPA waiver :
Federal Register /Vol. 75, No. 80 /Tuesday, April 27, 2010 /Notices

Page 22129
Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the Town of Falmouth, MA

In column number 3 of the waiver Page 22130 :

“Based on information provided to the EPA, the Town of Falmouth has taken the necessary steps to obtain all required local, state, and federal approvals to move forward with the proposed project. The Town of Falmouth has adopted a local ordinance regulating large scale wind turbines. According to the submittal, Zoning Article XXXIV, Chapter 240, Section 240–166 requires a Special Permit for windmills with minimum setback from property lines. “

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-04-27/pdf/2010-9751.pdf

The Town of Falmouth in 2012 agreed to enter honest open negotiations with wind turbine victims to resolve a noise described as torture from the wind turbines.

The Falmouth Wind Turbine Options Analysis WTOP was chaired by the Consensus Building Institute.

The purpose of the Falmouth Wind Turbine Option Analysis Process (WTOP) was to engage in an open, transparent, and collaborative exploration of the range of options for the long-term future of the Town’s two Wind Turbines – Wind I and Wind II.

The Town of Falmouth during the CBI-WTOP meetings kept the 2010 noise warning from Vestas wind company secret.

There were around 24 meetings. The meetings were all put on video and shown to the public on Falmouth Local Community TV.

The September 12, 2012 video that talked about Falmouth Wind Turbine II and the stimulus ARRA funds with questions over was the 6 million dollars a loan or a grant was never shown on Falmouth local community TV.

The public never saw the video. The video remains “lost “ to this day. One of 24 videos !

How did the federal government provide 6 million in taxpayer funds to build a foreign made turbine without the town applying for Special Permit 240-166 ?

Why didn’t the town make public the Vestas warning the turbines were 110 decibels twice as loud as the General Electric turbines ?

The lawsuit by the town that resulted in the cease and desist on one of the two turbines revealed an email from Vestas warning that the town failed to consider the sound levels emitted by the model to be installed. The town ignored Vestas – there is no record any response was issued by the town.

The final word from Vestas was that they would not site the turbine unless someone in the town accepted all responsibility for the impacts.

It appears that one person (the Waste Water Superintendent) agreed to the condition and the turbine was erected.

The residents were never informed.

This is an incredible story !

There are far too many “mistakes” omissions, lost videos, hidden letters including the April 2, 2013 MassCEC memo to the MassCEC Board of Directors, extrapolation of noise tests and using a GE wind turbine for a Veatas wind turbine twice as loud.

What is there we don’t know about ?