Falmouth Throws In Towel On Wind Turbines

In 2010 and 2011, the Town acquired and erected two Vestas V-82 type 1.65 megawatt wind turbines at its wastewater treatment plant. When the turbines began operations, homeowners (183 residences) in the immediate neighborhood began to complain that the noise and vibration of the turbines constituted a nuisance.

The town installed the turbines without a special permit which would have required additional notification to 183 residential homeowners. It was later discovered the town omitted documents including emails, letters, memos and a KEMA Inc map from the year 2005 showing the turbines generate up to 60 decibels at homes around the turbines. General Electric a domestic wind turbine company refused to build one turbine because of residential setbacks and ice throw.

Barnstable Superior Court Judge Cornelius Moriarty issued the order to shut down Falmouth's Wind 1 and Wind 2 on June 20, 2017. The judge denied the appeal brought by Falmouth selectmen against the Zoning Board of Appeals.

.................................................................................................................................................
Wind I: June 2017

The Town reached a settlement agreement with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center in the amount of $178,000

Debt service for Wind I will be partially offset from revenue generated from a major solar array built at the Town Landfill site.

Wind 1 has been determined to be impaired and net book value of $4,054,247 has been recorded as an impairment loss in the Statement of Activities in the general government function classification.

Wind II: June 2017

The second Town wind turbine was financed by a loan/grant from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust “MCWT”, formerly the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust with funds that originated with the United States under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Wind II has been determined to be impaired and net book value of $4,854,799 has been recorded as an impairment loss in the Statement of Activities in the general government
function

The outcome of individual litigation matters should not materially affect the basic financial statements of the Town at June 30, 2017.

F. Commitments and Contingencies -Wind Turbines June 30, 2017

Page 93 of 147 Of the PDF reader file

Or Town of Falmouth, Massachusetts Page 83 of 134 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

http://www.falmouthmass.us/doc...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 10, 2017, Susan Moran, the chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, said: “It's time to put the matter behind us and move forward.”

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the borrower ( Town of Falmouth) entered into a project regulatory agreement in order to borrow ARRA, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The agreement was from the June 2009 Falmouth Special Town Meeting agreement. This agreement and others associated with the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust and Massachusetts Clean Energy Center have been resolved or in the process.

The Falmouth Select Board has been meeting in executive session since June of 2017 to resolve litigation over the wind turbines.

The Friends of Falmouth Wind were denied an appeal to the wind turbine litigation after waiting 5 months the courts ruled that they have no standing. The Friends of Falmouth Wind filed an appeal with the Massachusetts Superior Court late in January of 2018.

The Friends of Falmouth Wind filed their appeal well after many agreements with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Massachusetts Clean Water Trust and Massachusetts Clean Energy Center have been changed or modified. In addition, other litigation has been canceled, postponed or agreed upon.

The Friends of Falmouth Wind failed to file for Injunctive relief against the Town of Falmouth in their appeal. Many attorneys believe Injunctive relief is not appropriate where the issues can be resolved through the ordinary trial and appellate process. In this case a security would by have been required by the applicant.

The Falmouth wind turbines fall under the Humpty Dumpty rule of laws. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall: All the king's horses and all the king's men. Couldn't put Humpty together again.

In other words, a ruling in favor of the Friends of Falmouth Wind by the Massachusetts Superior Appeals Court would take longer than the life of the turbines to undo all the agreements made since June 20, 2017.

The Town of Falmouth will not join the Friends of Falmouth Wind appeal:

State of the Town: Falmouth Wind Turbine Update February 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meCC5XU-uzw