Falmouth Wind Turbine Fiasco and MassCEC

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of 12 directors none of which want to acknowledge the massive mistakes siting wind turbines in Massachusetts

Falmouth is ground zero for poorly placed wind turbines in North America

• Secretary Matthew Beaton, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs
• Martin Aikens, Business Agent, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 103
• Secretary Jay Ash, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
• President Anthony Benoit, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
• President John B. Cook, Springfield Technical Community College
• Tom Galvin, Director, RESHydro
• Bob Haber, Chief Investment Officer, Proficio Capital Partners
• Commissioner Judith Judson, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
• Secretary Kristen Lepore, Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance
• President Marty Meehan, University of Massachusetts
• Deborah Mutschler, Executive Director, Massachusetts Workforce Alliance
• Secretary Ron Walker, Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development

How To Lose A Wind Turbine Lawsuit Falmouth Massachusetts

The Town of Falmouth, Massachusetts wanted to install several town owned commercial wind turbines at its wastewater treatment plant in 2005.

The town conducted noise studies, evaluated sites, and made a selection to determine what regulatory approvals were needed to install wind turbines.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today known as the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center helped finance every aspect of the wind turbine location and its impact on the surrounding area, including sound impact studies. A company called KEMA Inc. was hired to complete all the preliminary studies in which maps showed noise levels in excess of 40 decibels of noise on Blacksmith Shop Road and related properties in the circle around the turbine shown on the map. The study was done for a turbine that generates 103 decibels of noise.

The engineering company pre prepared Falmouth town special permit 240-166 for the wind turbine installation of a General Electric 1.5 megawatt wind turbine used as an example of the type of wind turbine to be used at the wastewater treatment plant. The special permit process requires additional notification to neighbors and studies and hearings done by the semi judicial Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals.

General Electric a domestic wind turbine company refused to build even a single 1.5 megawatt wind turbine in Falmouth due to residential setbacks and ice throw to route 28.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today known as the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center after the refusal of General Electric to build a 1.5 megawatt turbine offered to sell Falmouth one of the Vestas V-82 type 1.65 megawatt wind turbines they had been stuck with for five years. The state agency could not sell the turbine at auction.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center had all the specifications to the Vestas wind turbines which included a warning from Vestas that the turbine generates 110 decibels of noise which on a decibel scale is double the noise of the General Electric wind turbine used in the KEMA Inc. Falmouth wind studies.

Massachusetts at the time under former Governor Deval Patrick had a commercial wind turbine agenda of 2000 megawatts of renewable energy by the year 2020. The MassCEC a state agency in order to get the state wind turbine program off the ground offered the Town of Falmouth one million dollars to take the 110 decibel Vestas V 82 turbine off their hands.

The Falmouth Vestas V 82 installation set the example for all other Massachusetts towns which created a nuisance in as many as twenty one other towns.

The Falmouth Wind I turbine began operation in March of 2010. Since the start date thousands of written certified noise complaints have been filed against the turbine.

The Town of Falmouth after the noise complaints started with the first turbine moved forward again installing a second Vestas V-82 type turbine without doing any noise studies or studies of both turbines operating together. There are no noise studies for Falmouth Wind II.

In 2011 the Cape Cod Commission changed setbacks to ten times the rotor diameter or near 3000 feet for a single Falmouth wind turbine.

In 2012 the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection notified the Town of Falmouth the turbines were breaking state noise regulations

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center admitted in 2013 that the original acoustic noise tests were wrong and in a April 2013 memo admitted the turbines generate 110 decibels of noise.

The MassCEC also in 2013 changed its setbacks to 2000 feet for future commercial wind studies.

Falmouth has a location around the wastewater treatment plant that has up to 200 residential home owners who filed multiple lawsuits against wind turbines claiming that the sound created by the turbines and the “shadow flicker” from the rotating blades interfere with their use and enjoyment of their property, disrupt their sleep and even make them ill. Opponents also contend that wind projects lower property values.

The wind turbines are a nuisance

The residential landowners around the wind turbines claim the turbines interfere with their right to use and enjoy their property. The wind turbine interference has caused them “significant” harm.

A University of Massachusetts overview of the ” 2012 Wind Turbine Health Impact Study” highlights chest pounding noise at 110 decibels. The overview also shows the expert panel who conducted the 2012 wind study only used a 103 decibel wind turbine as a model and ignored the 110 decibel wind turbines installed in Falmouth.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center prior to the installations of the Falmouth wind turbines had warned in boiler plate studies around the state warned of two distinct types of noise.The types were legal limits of decibels and also a noise called human annoyance or what they call today infra sound or low frequency noise. The Chief Operating Officer of Vestas Wind company has admitted there is nothing they can do about infra sound. Infra sound has a frequency range of less than 20 Hz below the audible range for human hearing

Falmouth residents were made aware of an offer of one million dollars in advance to buy the Vestas V 82 turbines from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center but were never warned about the two distinct types of noise which both have since created a nuisance.

Testimony to the Falmouth Board of Heath shows the wind turbine intrusions cause a combined number of ailments, including disturbed sleep, headaches, tinnitus, ear pressure, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, visual blurring, rapid heartbeat, irritability, and loss of memory or concentration.

These wind intrusions have caused significant harm and constitute an unreasonable interference, landowners do claim they are unable to use and enjoy their property, including the normal, everyday activities.

The Massachusetts wind turbine renewable energy agenda of 2000 megawatts of power by the year 2020 has ground to a halt at around 115 megawatts of power. The state has switched to solar and other renewable energy sources.

The switch from the wind turbine agenda is an admission by the state of the nuisance it has created state wide. The nuisance created in Falmouth can be tied back to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today known as the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center offering the Town of Falmouth one million dollars to take their first wind turbine.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center dangled a carrot of one million dollars to a cash strapped town all the town had to do was ignore the town special permit process which required additional notifications to neighbors and Zoning Board of Appeals hearings in which noise warnings and emails would have disclosed the turbines would be a nuisance.

The town has gone into negotiations with neighbors on several occasions. One for a year costing state taxpayers $139,000.00 and the other in court November 2013 in which the Falmouth Select Board reneged one week later.

The Falmouth Select Board recently discussed the resumption of wind turbine mediation. It is not clear if the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is involved in the mediation

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is helping the Town of Falmouth pay its litigation fees against the neighbors who have filed multiple lawsuits against the town. The neighbors are using their life savings to protect their health and property rights

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center a state agency wants to defeat any major nuisance lawsuits brought by landowners

The Town of Falmouth has had six years to retain an appropriate medical doctor to to analyze each plaintiff ’s medical records and, if necessary, examine each plaintiff.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has a board of directors made up of who is who in Massachusetts politics

It's time to clean up the mess