Falmouth Fails To Produce Wind Turbine RFP

Falmouth neighbors want disastrous wind turbines taken down.

The Building Inspector years ago has ordered the dismantling and removal of Wind 1 because the structure didn't comply with zoning laws. It was denied a special permit in 2015. State and local officials knew prior to construction the turbines generated 110 decibels of noise affecting up to 200 residential homes.

Massachusetts town administration drops the ball again: "Requests for Proposals"

The Massachusetts courts shut down the two town-owned nuisance wind turbines in June of 2017. The Select Board voted not to appeal the decision.

A January 2019 vote by the Falmouth Board of Selectmen, asked town administration to create a Request For Proposal to either leasing property outside Falmouth to run the wind turbines, sell the turbines, or re-purpose a wind turbine tower as a cell site.

The vote was taken out fear the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust would demand the balance of a 5 million dollar American Recovery and Reinvestment Act loan on Falmouth Wind II the second town-owned wind turbine around 3.5 million.

According to federal stimulus regulations the turbine has to remain energy efficient or pay back the loan. (3.5 million balance)

Falmouth Massachusetts Expensive Cons of Wind Turbines:

1. Wind Turbine Noise: Wind turbines generate up to 110 decibels of noise each equal to a chainsaw and more each time another one is installed. Turbines generate two distinct types of noise one called regulatory measured in decibels and the other infra-sound or low frequency. Worldwide millions of individuals exposed to wind turbines report sleep disturbance, headache, tinnitus, ear pressure, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, visual blurring, tachycardia, irritability, problems with concentration and memory, and panic episodes and more.

1A. Safety People at Risk: Storms and gearbox fires can cause damage to the blades of the wind turbines. A malfunctioned blade at 1640 feet can be a residential safety hazard. A single blade at 7 tons can cause life term physical disability or even death in certain cases.

2. Visual Pollution: Shadow Flicker caused by the Sun passing through the blades into homes at sunrise and sunset causing a strobe effect of the sun on homeowners.

3. Residential Setbacks: INCE board-certified acousticians suggest nearly a 3000-foot setback for one 110 decibel wind turbine and more for multiple wind turbines.

4 Nuisance: The unreasonable, unwarranted, and/or unlawful use of property, which causes inconvenience or damage to others, either to individuals and/or to the general public.

5. Expensive to Set Up: Wind turbines involve the transportation of large and heavy equipment, causing a large temporarily disturbed area near the turbines.

6. Bird & Bat Deaths: The outside edges of megawatt wind turbines blades at 180 mph can actually be unsafe for wildlife, especially migratory birds and other flying creatures.

7. Reliability: Wind does not blow reliably, and turbines usually function at about 30% of nameplate capacity.

8. Parasitic power: When the wind doesn't blow power from the grid must go into the turbine at the owner's expense for heat, AC, batteries electronics, and more.

9. Weather: One thunderstorm a lightning strike could take out a blade or electronics within the turbine.

10. Gear-box: Older wind turbines require new or rebuilt gears as soon as every five years which includes specialized crane service.

11. Installation costs: Large megawatt utility-scale wind turbines typically rely heavily on state and federal taxpayer financial incentives.

12. Age: Older gear-driven megawatt wind turbines lose between 1 and 2 percent of their rated output each year with a lifetime of twenty years.

13. Environmental effect: Turbines requiring setbacks of 3000 feet from residential homes also require setbacks from each other in multiple installations for wind flow. Most times installations require chopping down acres of trees which eliminates the whole green thing that you’re trying to achieve reducing the carbon footprint.

14.Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): Wind turbines cause clutter on the radar which requires up to 5-mile setbacks from airports and flight paths.

15. Permits: Since the 1980s as each year goes by it has become increasingly difficult to place commercial wind turbines among heavily populated locations. Multiple buildings and special permits including wetlands, endangered species studies done to federal and state specifications.

16. Insurance: Wind turbine operations require a package of property and liability insurance which require a separate coverage protecting them from any pollution or environmental liability arising out of the turbine's operations. There is no standard “land-based wind turbine” insurance policy.

17. Decommissioning: Old wind turbine blades at 7 tons each are referred to as man-made asbestos and the cost to cut up the turbines outweighs the value of the scrap.

Lastly, Wind turbine companies, contractors, and advocates for years labeled residents around wind turbines as NIMBY(“not in my backyard”). Today around the world these wind advocates face neighborhood groups hiring law firms specializing in protecting their health and property rights.

The term NIMBY to residents in proposed locations is today NIMBY( next it may be you).

In 2020 land-based wind turbines and other supplies needed to make wind energy are extremely costly.

In November of 2019, Falmouth, Massachusetts Town Meeting Voted 2.5 million to disassemble its two nuisance old gear-driven wind turbines designed in the 1990s and relocate them out of town.

The turbines were assembled in 2004 and kept in storage until installation in 2010 and 2012 at the Falmouth Wastewater Treatment Plant.

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Controlled Demolition, Inc.of Phoenix, Maryland, USA performs the preparation for and explosives felling of one (1), 580’ tall, 1000 mt wind turbine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg9xk0d5qYY

Cheapest way out