Falmouth Wind Turbines

Attorney General Maura Healey is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Her office is an advocate and resource for the Commonwealth and its residents in many areas, including protecting consumers, combating fraud and corruption and protecting civil rights.

The Criminal Bureau works to protect the public by investigating and prosecuting a wide range of criminal cases. These include public corruption, financial fraud, and other violations of the public trust.

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In 2005 the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center paid KEMA, Inc.& Ecology to undertake the November Falmouth community wind project feasibility study. That study paid for with taxpayer resources produced a map prior to the installation of any wind turbines that a General Electric 1.5 megawatt wind turbine generating 103.5 decibels of noise would produce sound levels over 40 decibels in residential neighborhoods that included Blacksmith Shop Road.

General Electric a domestic wind turbine company refused to place even a single wind turbine because of residential setbacks and ice throw.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center after General Electric refused to build a wind turbine in Falmouth offered one million dollars to Falmouth officials to take a Vestas V-82 commercial 1.65 megawatt wind turbine off their hands.

The Vestas V-82 turbine generates 110 decibels of noise. On the decibel scale the 7 decibel higher turbine equals double the noise of the General Electric wind turbine. This is the beginning of the betrayal of public trust.

At this point two things happened : The Town of Falmouth excepted the one million dollars and hid a noise warning letter from Vestas the manufacturer of the wind turbine that it generates 110 decibels of noise. The town hid the letter for 5 years until a FOIA request in 2015.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and all those involved in the installations of both Falmouth Wind I and II were all aware the turbine was too loud for residential locations.

The town proceeded to install a second wind turbine Falmouth Wind II. That turbine also is a 110 decibel Vestas V-82 type wind turbine. There are NO noise studies for Falmouth Wind II or both turbines operating together as the town had already been warned the first turbine Falmouth Wind I was itself to loud.

The August 2010 Vesta warning letter states the Town of Falmouth had previously been warned about the noise and required the town to take responsibility. The town signed the letter and kept it secret from the public. This is where the corruption starts and taking the civil rights of up to 200 residential home owners around the wind turbines.

The town avoided filing Special Permit 240-166 to build the wind turbines as it would require additional studies and notifications to the neighbors. The town had been warned by the wind turbine manufacturer and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center was the owner of the wind turbines in which they held all the manufacturers specifications.

Almost to the day the first wind turbine started operation neighbors started to complain.

The town knowing full well the noise warning letter from Vestas prior to the installations acted like they did not know what the neighbors were talking about.

The neighbors described the noise as torture from lack of sleep.

The town at this point made the neighbors file elaborate written noise complaints about the noise. The town rather than protecting consumers was making them jump over hurdles in the hope they would go away.

Now during 2012 the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center hired the Consensus Building Institute for $139,000.oo to negotiate a resolution to the wind turbine process. Keep in mind during the $139,000.00 dollars worth of negotiations the town and everyone involved in the installations of the turbines knew the town was hiding the noise warnings prior to installation.

What about using taxpayer funds to the tune of $139,000.00 over one year let's classify this as fraud and corruption.

Town officials were well aware during one year of negotiations they were hiding a letter. Also to make matters worse a video on the September 12, 2012 WTOP-CBI meetings was lost. The person who filmed the video is listed on the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center contractor website and is a member of Friends of Falmouth Wind. The video had questions over ARRA federal stimulus funds used to build Falmouth Wind II. Was the money a loan or a grant ? The public was denied this information prior to a vote to take down the wind turbines.

The public has never been made aware the September 12, 2012 video is missing. All the other videos were show on Falmouth local community television. The missing video edits all the other videos. It's like reading a book with a missing chapter.

On April of 2013 a memo at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center board of directors admitted the original Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center commissioned feasibility study for Falmouth under estimated the likely acoustic impact and that study did not include a detailed acoustic analysis based upon sampling of ambient acoustic conditions. The memo shows they failed to identify the exceeding of the 10 decibel limit at property locations.

Please note that in 2005 the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative today the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center had a map from KEMA, Inc.& Ecology that the 10 decibel limits would be exceeded at many residential locations

Local town officials and the local media contend mistakes were made. What really happened was the town gambled with taxpayer resources and lost. This entire two wind turbine installation was far too well orchestrated to be a simple mistake.

There are far too many "mistakes. " This was an effort to take up to 200 residential homes and the health of those families with NO compensation. History shows this has happened in the past. This time with a wind turbine agenda gone horribly wrong like agendas of the past.

What happened as a result of the Falmouth wind turbine installations allowed those state officials to continue an agenda using Falmouth as an example taking the health and property rights in an additional twenty one communities. The so called renewable energy agenda that calls for a war on carbon emmissions is a war on the citizens of Massachusetts.

The only ones making advancements are politicians with campaign contributions, wind turbine contractors and law firms. The taxpayers are the losers. Losing their health, property rights and finacial resources thrown into eleven ongoing lawsuits.

The mistake that is being made is the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center helping financing up to eleven ongoing litigation cases with taxpayer resources in an effort to outspend the residents who have lost their health and property rights around the turbines.

It's time for Attorney General Maura Healey the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to step in and provide the highest level of public protection in Falmouth.

The Town of Falmouth knew in 2005 from the KEMA, Inc.& Ecology map that any commercial wind turbine over 1.5 megawatts would exceed 40 decibels at near by homes. The town took a gamble and installed Vestas wind turbines twice as loud, hid maps, memos, letters and noise warnings from the public .

The hidden documentation shows the turbines should never have been installed.