Falmouth Massachusetts Town Meeting Scammed On Wind Turbines

Falmouth Massachusetts Town Meeting Scammed On Wind Turbines

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Basically, the saying that if Town Meeting Members continue to allow themselves to be victimized repeatedly by the same omitted information then the members cease to be completely blameless in their own victimization.

The Town of Falmouth prior to the construction of both foreign-made Vestas V-82 turbines in 2010 and 2012 was warned in writing prior to August 2010 the turbines generate 110 decibels of noise. The letter or warning has never been disclosed to Falmouth Town Meeting Members.

The Town of Falmouth prior to the construction of the turbines was warned in 2005 in a KEMA Inc report they needed to file a Special Permit for a domestic wind turbine made by General Electric because of noise issues with residential setbacks. Town Meeting Members were told there were no domestic wind turbines available but the information GE refused due to residential setbacks was left out.

The Massachusetts courts in June of 2017 shut down both town-owned wind turbines.

In November 2019 Town Meeting Members voted around 2.5 million to move the turbines that were designed in the late 1990s assembled in 2004 and kept in warehouses for years. They were almost ten years old when they were installed in 2010 and 2012.

Documents show Falmouth Town Meeting Members were told as far back as 2013 the turbines only have a value of $300,000.00 ( three hundred thousand) each!

The town administration for years has said a Request for Proposal to move the wind turbines is eminent within the next thirty days.

Town Meeting Members have been fooled once, shame on them. fooled twice, shame on them again, but in this case what happens three times or more? The Town of Falmouth still owes the balance of a 5 million dollar ARRA ,American Recovery and Reinvestment Act loan on Falmouth Wind II the second wind turbine installed in 2012.

If the town-owned wind turbines were worth only $300,000.00 each in 2013 seven years ago why spend 2.5 million on two antique wind turbines past 2020?

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December 2011 :

Page 17 of 80 on the PDF reader

Section 2.2 Costs to Remove Turbines and Abandon Facility

Weston & Sampson contacted Blue Sky Wind, LLC of White Plains, NY, and inquired about the potential value of the turbines. Blue Sky suggested that if a warranty continued with the turbines, they would have a value in the range of $400,000 to $600,000 each.

Therefore, a value for each turbine of $300,000 should be used for planning level budgeting purposes.

http://www.falmouthmass.us/DocumentCenter/View/159/Weston-and-Sampson-PDF
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January 2013

Falmouth Board Of Selectmen January 30, 2013 15 Minutes Into Video

Former Falmouth Assistant Town Manager Heather Harper estimates that it would cost the town about $400, 000 to dismantle the turbines with a best-case scenario of $600,000 for resale value.

http://www.fctv.org/v3/vod/board-selectmen-january-30-2013-0

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November 2019

Falmouth Massachusetts Town Meeting November 12, 2019, Wind Turbine Article 14

Approves Spending $2,314,800.00 (2 1/2 Million) To Put 15-Year-Old Turbines In Storage

http://www.falmouthmass.us/DocumentCenter/View/6771/Article-14-Wind-I--Wind-II-Turbine-Relocation-Initial-Cost-Estimate

The Secret History of Wind One, Falmouth, MA an Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taQTNw7B-4U

Wind One is a megawatt wind turbine owned by the Town of Falmouth, MA, USA, manufactured by Vestas, erected in 2010 and now in a permanent state of shut down for lack of zoning permitting and neighbor complaints. Frank Haggerty is interviewed by Falmouth resident David Moriarty about Wind One