Falmouth Onshore Wind Construction Up To 3 Years

Falmouth Offshore Wind Cables Is No Silver Bullet For Cape Cod Environment

Offshore wind now also faces bipartisan threat over whale deaths. NOAA Fisheries has declared an unusual mortality event for humpback whale strandings along the Atlantic coast. The event began in 2016 at the start of the Rhode Island Ocean wind and strandings remain elevated due to the wind construction in New Jersey and New York.

The offshore wind company has asked the state to bypass all local Falmouth bylaws in particular the wind turbine bylaws created during eleven lawsuits over the two town-owned wind turbines.

The Falmouth onshore cable and substation project is supposed to help the state of Massachusetts facilitate the decarbonization of the electric grid to assist in achieving net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050. The project is supposed to be consistent with the state climate law and Falmouth climate emergency.

A carbon footprint is measured as the carbon emissions that our utility generates in order to supply us with electricity which includes construction.

A local citizens group is advocating for the responsible use of abundant, clean, safe, and local wind energy in town by allowing an offshore wind company to over an up to three year period construct underground cables to a six-acre electric power substation in the middle of the town's underground water supply. The grid operator ISO-New England also has to build and plan a brand new 115-volt aerial power transmission cable off Cape.

The offshore wind company has the option to use submarine cables to get the power to the major use cities avoiding Falmouth altogether and lowering the entire massive carbon footprint of three years of construction.

The Town of Falmouth has been in negotiations over a "Host Community Agreement" with the offshore wind company for over three years. There has only been one publicly announced meeting with the offshore wind company on June 8, 2022. A small meeting was held with local neighbors at an Energy Committee Meeting in the middle of March 2023.

The same Falmouth offshore wind company is also planning a land route through Rhode Island to get to Fall River. Neighbors, there have spoken out that the "Host Community Agreements" usually require the town to partner with offshore wind absolving the right to sue over future damages, and that the HCA negotiations are being held behind closed doors with no public input.

The issue for the town onshore cables is the Falmouth Heights and Maravista neighborhood's land locations of Worcester Park, Central Park Ballfield, and Kite Park may have been given to the town for open space and residential use.

The canal power plant had an output of 680 megawatts. Burying 800-megawatt onshore wind cables under these properties does not enhance beaches, parks, or public spaces and takes away the healthful, peaceful enjoyment of the neighborhoods.

Note#

The Town of Falmouth officials told Town Meeting Members for years the local citizen wind turbine lawsuits against the town were a "Slam Dunk" win. The turbines are gone.

In addition, prior to the Town Meeting voting over 10 million to build the Falmouth wind turbines in 2010 and 2012, it was disclosed through multiple lawsuits that a major US wind company refused to build one turbine due to setbacks and the foreign manufacturer of the town turbines stated in writing prior to construction that the turbines were too loud and the town had to take responsibility for the noise.

Offshore wind faces bipartisan threat over whale deaths.