Basis for MassCEC $1.8 Million Falmouth Award: Factually Untrue

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center [MassCEC], in a statement released yesterday, has approved up to $1.8 million in funds for the Town of Falmouth based the award on: “To date the town [of Falmouth] has incurred unexpected costs resulting from community concerns, voluntary reductions in operation due to unanticipated sound levels and related litigation.”

Fact checking finds:

·         “community concerns” are, in truth, hundreds of noise and health complaints filed by wind turbine neighbors with both the Falmouth Board of Health and Board of Selectmen.  Additionally, at a Board of Health public hearing in 2012, 47 Falmouth wind turbine neighbors spoke in moving testimony of their individual adverse health impacts.

·         “voluntary reductions in operation” do not exist.  The only reductions are those ordered by Barnstable Superior Court after Selectmen willfully disregarded the court agreement   by voting a four hour increase in turbine operation.   In addition to making the agreement an order, Superior Court Judge Christopher Muse slapped additional punitive restrictions on the Town in an amount equivalent to more than 14% extra revenue loss by prohibiting turbine operation on Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. 

 ·         “unanticipated sound levels” – anticipated sound levels were know by the Town of Falmouth to exceed regulations from its own reports as early as five years before the first wind turbine was built. This fact is well documented by a professional engineer and INCE Board Certified acoustician, Stephen Ambrose, in a presentation made to Falmouth in October of last year.  The Town of Falmouth Community Wind Project Feasibility Study (November 2005) states that noise levels would exceed the 40 (dBa) regulation.

 ·         “related litigation” – The numerous lawsuits filed by wind turbine neighbors are complaints related primarily to adverse health issues such as sleep deprivation, ear pressure, tinnitus, headaches, nausea, elevated heart rates and blood pressure and other medical conditions.  Sound levels are the underlying cause of adverse health issues they are of subordinate concern to health.

 Governor Patrick has an ambitious goal of 2,000 MW Wind Energy by 2020 which has been hampered by the repeated health issues from wind turbines in many towns across the Commonwealth such as Fairhaven, Kingston, Scituate, Princeton, Florida and Monroe.  The Patick Administration’s announcement yesterday regarding Falmouth is likely a precursor of what’s ahead for other towns contending with their own wind turbine citizens’ identical health issues.

Yesterday’s announcement indicates that the MassCEC will step up to help Falmouth’s financial impact but do nothing to mitigate the impact on Falmouth’s wind turbine neighbors who continue to contend with ongoing daytime turbine operations.