Falmouth Lacks Multiple Wind Turbine Noise Zoning Study

In reference to the Falmouth wind turbines Falmouth Select Board Chair Susan Moran in the 2018 video has said: "We would never put the town in the situation again where we would, you know, to the best of our ability be subject to any anticipated litigation."

But :

A wind turbine park or farm is defined as a group of wind turbines in the same location to produce electricity usually called a wind energy facility.

The Town of Falmouth is proposing moving its legally shut down Falmouth Wind II turbine closer to the identical privately owned NOTUS wind turbine.

When it comes to commercial wind turbine installations in Massachusetts you have to look for what has been omitted from state and town regulations.

Falmouth has no regulations for the spacing of commercial wind turbines to prevent additional noise. Falmouth is considering moving its Falmouth Wind II turbine.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The only result here is more litigation.

When you have two noise sources it will be louder. It is essential for example its the same thing as having two light bulbs next to each other. It is a fact that if you have two noise sources with a sound level of 100 decibels each the total will be about a total of about 103 decibels. If you had, for example, five wind turbines in the same location it would become even louder.

The Falmouth wind turbines including the third privately owned wind turbine are all Vestas V-82 type turbines generating up to 110 decibels each. The Town of Falmouth has the documentation the turbines generate 110 decibels of noise.

Falmouth zoning bylaw Chapter 240 Article 166 defines a wind turbine: "A single device that converts wind energy to rotational energy that drives an electrical generator, typically consisting of a rotor and blade assembly, nacelle body and tower."

Prospective commercial wind turbine installations frequently encounter the dilemma that existing zoning ordinances do not address wind turbine spacing with two or more wind turbines in the same vicinity.

Falmouth, Massachusetts has a Special Permit process for a wind turbine installation which is a piece of electric generating equipment that converts wind energy. There does not appear to be any regulations for a "Wind Energy Facility" otherwise known as a wind farm or wind park consisting of two or more wind turbines in the same vicinity or how many wind turbines can be allowed in an allocated location.

For wind energy facilities of two or more commercial wind turbines, greater setback distances are recommended to mitigate public safety concerns. The question for the Special Permit process is what is the total decibels generated by the Notus privately owned wind turbine and the proposed location of Falmouth Wind II in close relationship to each other? Both turbines produce 110 decibels each by themselves. Where is the study done by an acoustic expert?

Wind turbine noise and shadow flicker studies were done for the first town-owned wind turbine called Falmouth Wind I. The town-owned second wind turbine was installed based on the study done on the first turbine both Vestas V-82 turbines. There is no noise study done for both wind turbines operating at the same time except that they do break state noise regulations in surrounding neighborhoods

The Town of Falmouth does not appear to have zoning bylaw regulations for the installations of multiple commercial megawatt wind turbines. These zoning regulations would set spacing requirements or allocate a certain number of acres between commercial wind turbines that would prevent noise increases between poorly sited locations.

Under the current Special Permit rules, the Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals would have to be able to determine the noise level in decibels created by the Notus private turbine operating in close proximity to the new proposed location of Falmouth Wind II. The zoning board could only make that decision based on a study of both turbines operating at the same time.

[Again there is no current noise study of the location of the Notus wind turbine and proposed location of Falmouth Wind II.]

Falmouth homeowners have been complaining bitterly about state regulatory noise measured in decibels and low-frequency noise and infra-sound nuisance from the moment the turbines commenced operation in 2010.

Wind turbine litigation is where the rubber hits the road. The courts get to hear the real evidence and facts.

The Town of Falmouth has never won a court case demonstrating that wind turbines do not cause noise nuisance or shadow flicker.

In June of 2017 Massachusetts courts, all the way to the Massachusetts Appeals Court have shut down both Falmouth town-owned nuisance wind turbines.

Falmouth, Building Commissioner Rodman L.Palmer now almost two years later claims the Falmouth Wind II turbine has not been abandoned. The turbines will have been shut down for two years in June of this year. Interesting enough the same Rod Palmer classified Wind 1 as a non-complying structure and ordered it dismantled and removed.

The Town of Falmouth has received notification from an acoustic expert that the town-owned 110-decibel wind turbine Falmouth Wind II needs a setback of 2923 feet from residential property locations.

What are the residential setbacks for two 110 decibel wind turbines in the same vicinity?

Town Manager Julian M. Suso agreed to provide the Building Commissioner Rodman Palmer with a status report on Falmouth Wind II by January 31, 2019.

Julian Suso has been corresponding with Susan Perez, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust over a Project Regulatory Agreement loan/grant that was used to finance Falmouth Wind II with American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds. ARRA funds cannot be used if they present a danger to public health or safety related to the implementation or use of recovery funds.

Falmouth Select Board Chair Susan Moran in the video has said: "We would never put the town in the situation again where we would, you know, to the best of our ability be subject to any anticipated litigation. " 3 minutes mark