Falmouth Town Meeting Approves Dismantling Wind Turbines

FALMOUTH, MA — Town meeting voters approved paying $2.5 million to dismantle two wind turbines at the Falmouth wastewater treatment plant, the Cape Cod Times reported. Wednesday night's vote came after almost a decade of controversy surrounding the turbines.

Residents have complained about noise, and in the eight years since the first turbine started spinning, there have been nine lawsuits from abutters complaining their health was negatively impacted by the turbines. The turbines haven't been operational since the Board of Selectmen voted to shut them down last January.

Before a vote went underway, town meeting member Ronald Zweig made an unsuccessful attempt to delay dismantling and have the fate of the turbines be decided by a ballot vote instead of town meeting. Zweig said keeping the turbines standing would cost the town about $35,000 per year for maintenance, the Times reported. He reminded town meeting voters residents voted not to take the turbines down in a 2013 ballot vote.

But Selectmen Douglass Brown said that vote came before a Barnstable Superior Court judge ruled that neither of the turbines could spin at their current location. Zweig's ammendment was defeated 156-51, and town meeting members voted to dismantle the turbines. Selectmen chair Megan English Braga said the next step is for officials to explore running one of the turbines in another town, so Falmouth can still meet the requirements of a $3.5 million grant it received.

For more on this story, check out the Cape Cod Times.