Falmouth Wind Turbine Addiction Insanity Spins Millions

No longer spinning since June 2017, Falmouth’s two wind turbines will continue to draw upon town taxpayer resources for more than ten years.

To erect town-owned Wind 1, officials borrowed $5 million and promised the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center what are known as RECs, renewable energy certificates. To pay for town-owned Wind 2, officials received an ARRA 5 million stimulus loan from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust. The Wind 2 loan called a project regulatory agreement was brokered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Those agreements are still in force, even if the turbines that were ordered shut down by multiple courts in late June 2017 fail to generate electricity. The Town of Falmouth must pay $385,000.00 annually for the next 10 years for the loan for Wind I. Also, by failing to generate renewable energy certificates, the town hall owes MassCEC $110,000.00 a year for another 12 years.

Combined, the amount owed reaches nearly six million. This six million does not include the 5 million loaned to Falmouth by the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, for Wind 2. Those loaned dollars went to Falmouth as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with the principal and interest forgiven as long as the project continued to be energy efficient.

According to legal documents Falmouth owes the State Revolving Fund 3.5 million plus interest now as Falmouth Wind II has not been energy-efficient since at least 2013 when the courts first partially shut down the turbines permanently in 2017.

The Falmouth Select Board voted in July 2017 not to appeal the superior court judge’s ruling that both turbines constituted a nuisance to neighbors. State officials with the Mass Clean WaterTrust previously indicated the money must be repaid if the turbine stops operating.

The Mass Clean Water Trust, MCWT, according to ARRA and federal regulations and the MassDEP brokered agreement must demand interest as well, an amount that remains around 2 percent.

Altogether, this amounts to over ten million without accounting for legal costs. The two 400-foot old gear-driven foreign-made turbines have long served as the subject of massive litigation. Multiple neighbors filed lawsuits alleging the commercial turbines negatively affected their health and town officials failed to secure the proper permits 240-166 to erect the pair as stated in the federal EPA waiver to buy the foreign-made turbine.

Falmouth Town Meeting which meets every six months has agreed to transfer amounts as high $260,000.00 every six months to the town counsel’s budget to address up to eleven cases involving the turbines hiring Boston law firms for ten years perhaps millions of dollars.
The amounts paid to multiple engineering firms from the installation, court appearances, studies remain ongoing perhaps millions of dollars in addition to fore mentioned legal fees.

The turbines have been a boon for wind turbine companies, engineering firms, law firms, and re-election campaigns while taxpayers take it in the pocketbook over and over again.

The board of selectmen in 2017 began holding executive sessions closed to the public for two years dedicated solely to kicking the can down the road about what to do with the turbines.
Selectmen addressed the financial circumstances while announcing the decision to ask Town Meeting in Article 14 on November 13, 2019, for 2.5 million to move the turbines.

Town Meeting approved the 2.5 million from free cash? How bad off is Falmouth?

The question for state and federal authorities is why the Town of Falmouth was allowed to vote 2.5 million from the town bank account to take down the turbines but not pay off the 3.5 million legal agreement loan on Falmouth Wind II.

Chairman Susan L. Moran who is now in the run for a state senate seat said: “It's time to put the matter behind us and move forward.” Prior to the recent November Town Meeting Falmouth was ten million in debt to the turbines and now after the 2.5 million votes is over twelve million.

How do you define insanity and addiction? Doing the same thing over and over again!