Falmouth Wind Turbine Documents To Town Meeting Members

Falmouth Wind Turbine Email, Warning Letter,Memo and Map To: Town Meeting Members

Massachusetts -Where is the decibel map for Falmouth Wind II ?
The May 28 2010 email below is addressed to Stephen Wiehe of Weston & Sampson (Town of Falmouth’s contract engineers) from Brian Hopkins Senior Manager of Sales Executions Vestas Wind Turbine Company.

Brian Hopkins of Vestas the manufacturer of the Falmouth wind turbines asks Stephen Wiehe and others, carbon copied , do you have the decibel mapping for Falmouth. In the email Brian states the Vestas V82 turbine ( Falmouth Wind 1 & 2 ) produces greater decibels beyond the , International Electro-technical Commission, IEC standards

The conclusion from the email is there is no decibel map of Falmouth Wind Turbine ll and no decibel map of Falmouth Wind I and II operating together. To date no one has ever produced a decibel map of Falmouth Wind II prior to its installation or working with Falmouth wind turbine number one.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Email :

Fri 5/28/2010 1:48 PM
Brian Hopkins brhop@vestas.com

RE: Sound / Feasibility Studies

TO: Wiehe, Stephen,

cc Duijvesteijn, Olle; Yanuskiewicz, Francis

“Steve, I don't believe I saw a feasibility study for Falmouth other than Site Plans.

Was a sound study updated with the additional turbine?

Does the information I provided in the octave band data support the conclusions that you are conservatvely within MA state sound regulations?

The table highlights the fact that V82 produces greater decibels when it reaches its stall regime beyond the IEC design standard at 95% capacity.

The table also helps recognize the effects of shear on the sound levels experienced at receptors which should also be considering with the sound study.

My email was lost from the time we did the first turbine so I don't have a great record of information but do you have this decibel mapping for Falmouth?”

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Warning Letter :

On August 2010 Vestas wind turbine company 3 months after the 5/28/2010 Brian Hopkins email warned the Town of Falmouth the turbines generate sound levels twice those of General Electric wind turbines used in preliminary noise studies at 110 decibels:
August 3, 2010

Mr. Gerald Potamis WasteWater Superintendent

Town of Falmouth Public Works

59 Town Hall SquareFalmouth, MA 02540

RE: Falmouth WWTF Wind Energy Facility II "Wind II", Falmouth, MA Contract No. #3297

Dear Mr. Potamis, Due to the sound concerns regarding the first wind turbine installed at the wastewater treatment facility, the manufacturer of the turbines, Vestas, is keen for the Town of Falmouth to understand the possible noise and other risks associated with the installation of the second wind turbine.

The Town has previously been provided with the Octave Band Data / Sound performance for the V82 turbine. This shows that the turbine normally operates at 103.2dB but the manufacturer has also stated that it may produce up to 110dB under certain circumstances. These measurements are based on IEC standards for sound measurement which is calculated at a height of 10m above of the base of the turbine.

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Memo :

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center three years later in 2013 in a memo to the Town of Falmouth admitted acoustic noise "mistakes" in the original preliminary noise studies.

The quote in the memo :

"Even though the original MTC-commissioned feasibility study for Falmouth over-estimated the likely acoustic impact, that study did not include a detailed acoustic analysis based upon sampling of ambient acoustic conditions (as is our current, more rigorous practice) which might have identified a potential exceedance of the 10 decibel limit,”

Note # The quote from the MassCEC memo is using General Electric wind turbines - add another 6 decibels to the Vestas turbines actually used. Also per 2005 KEMA map add 6 more decibels on Black Smith Shop Road to 50 decibels.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center admits the excess of 10 decibels breaking state noise regulations
It is well known the Town of Falmouth had been warned by Vestas that the Falmouth wind turbines operate at 110 decibels around 6 decibels higher than the manufacturer specifications and the IEC standards.

There is however a KEMA Inc. map from the Falmouth Wind I turbine 2005 wind study that shows the decibel readings at residential locations around Falmouth Wind I at above 40 decibels during normal operations as seen on Blacksmith Shop Road in the map. The white boxes show the decibel readings at 50 and 40 decibels. The map fails to reflect the additional 6 decibels doubling the sound of Falmouth Wind I .

The map for Falmouth Wind I used the Vestas manufacturers specifications for decibel noise which did not reflect the Vestas warning of the aditional 6 decibels which more than doubles the noise levels near 99 homes in the original study.

The problem for Falmouth taxpayers and Town Meeting Members today is that the emails,warning letter, memo and map show the “noise” measurements for the wind turbines are at least 6 decibels higher than manufacturer specifications and everyone knew prior to the installation of any wind turbines. The six decibels on a decibel scale equals a more than doubling of the noise levels at the more than 200 homes around both Falmouth Wind l and ll

Map Falmouth Wind I -- There is No Map For Falmouth Wind II

This is the decibel map for Falmouth Wind I - This 2005 KEMA map shows the decibels levels over 40 decibels on Black Smith Shop Road using a General Electric turbine. The turbines installed are 6 decibels higher. Where is the decibel map for Falmouth Wind II ?

The May 28 2010 email above asks for the decibel mapping for Falmouth Wind II -- There is no decibel map for Falmouth Wind II or both turbines working together

First the Vestas email warning, then the Vestas warning letter,memo admitting noise testing mistakes and then NO decibel mapping for Falmouth Wind II or both turbines working together.

Town Meeting Members Need To Ask Why They Never Received Any Of This Information

Falmouth Town Meeting Members Have Voted For Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars In Litigation

Filing Special Permit 240 -166 would have required making the noise warning letter, map and email public. This would have requires a ZBA hearing in which additional notifications and hearings would have to be held requiring notification to the neighbors. In which case the turbines would not have been built

Time To Start Asking Questions ? Why was this information not posted on the town website ?

Question number one : As you can see there is a decibel map for Falmouth Wind I.

Where is the decibel map for Falmouth Wind II and where is the decibel map for both Falmouth Wind I & Wind II operating together ?