Falmouth Wind II ARRA Grant - Special Permits Questioned

In 2010 the Falmouth Energy Committee after years of due diligence reported in the Falmouth Town Reports that Falmouth Wind II turbine is not a loan.

The town report makes no mention of a loan only that the money for Falmouth Wind II is a grant from the federal government using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ( ARRA ) funds..

The question remains today when did the Falmouth Town Meeting Members vote to borrow the millions of dollars to build Falmouth Wind II if it was a loan ?

The quote from the Falmouth Energy Committee :
"The income is projected to be higher than the first wind turbine because no loan has to be paid back, since the total cost is covered by the grant. "

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2010
TOWN REPORTS ELECTED TOWN OFFICERS
TOWN MODERATOR David T. Vieira
BOARD OF SELECTMEN Mary Pat Flynn, David Braga, Melissa C. Freitag , Ahmed A. Mustafa , Brent V.W. Putnam
TOWN REPORTS ENERGY COMMITTEE Page 99 of 213
Committee Co-Chairs: Megan Amsler, Joan Muller. Members: Joe Hackler, Dick Koehler, Kirstin Moritz, Paul Raymer. Sia Karplus and Dave Jewett

Wind Turbine Project 1
On November 11, 2009, the rotor was lifted to complete the physical construction of Wind I at the Waste Water Treatment Facility (WWTF). Interconnection to the grid was to be complete in March 2010. This delay was due to the additional relay switch that NSTAR required.
The amount of electricity that the turbine will generate depends on how much wind it gets on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. But overall, based on the actual wind data collected from the site, the Vestas V82 should produce between 3.08 million kilowatt hours and 4.231 million kilowatt hours annually.
The Town of Falmouth consumes about 11,500,000 kilowatt-hours annually, so this one turbine will be producing about 30% of the Town’s electricity.

Wind Turbine Project 2
The Energy Committee continues to work closely with the Town Manager’s office on the second proposed wind project for the WWTF off of Blacksmith Shop Road.
In January 2010, the town signed a contract for the contractor to install the second 1.65MW wind turbine using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds through the State of Massachusetts’ Department of Environmental Protection’s State Revolving Fund for water projects.

The Vestas V82 1.65 MW wind turbine will be installed by Solaya Energy LLC. It will be located 1000 ft NNW of the current wind turbine. The output of the turbine is calculated to be in the same range of the first wind turbine, because of the lower altitude. The income is projected to be higher than the first wind turbine because no loan has to be paid back, since the total cost is covered by the grant. The construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2010 and be complete by the end of summer. Gerald Potamis, Wastewater Superintendent, will oversee the project.
Page 99 of 213
http://www.falmouthmass.us/selectmen/townreports/2010report.pdf

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In 2010 the Town of Falmouth filed an EPA waiver to purchase a foreign made Vestas V-82 commercial wind turbine that was twice as loud as a General Electric domestic wind turbine. General Electric refused to place a single wind turbine due to setbacks to residential property. In the EPA waiver the town references Special Permit 240-166 leaving the reader the impression the town was filing all local permits.

Filing Special Permit 240 -166 would require additional notification and studies by the Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals - NO special permit was filed

The Town of Falmouth prior to August 2010 been warned in writing by Vestas wind turbine company that the turbine they are purchasing is 110 decibels of noise twice as loud as the General Electric domestic turbine company that refused to place even a single turbine due to residential home setbacks -- It's obvious why Special Permit 240 -166 was not requested !

The turbines at 110 decibels would never have been built

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EPA Waiver :
Page 22130
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 27, 2010 / Notices
half way down column # 1

“Based on information provided to the EPA, --------- the Town of Falmouth has taken the necessary steps to obtain all required local, state, and federal approvals to move forward with the proposed project. The Town of Falmouth has adopted a local ordinance regulating large scale wind turbines. According to the submittal, Zoning Article XXXIV, Chapter 240, Section 240–166 requires a Special Permit for windmills with minimum setback from property lines.”

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-04-27/pdf/2010-9751.pdf