Falmouth Wind Turbines : Time to Tell "All" The Truth

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is responsible for the health and finacial fisco.

There are a couple of Joker's in the deck : The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center formerly the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

Folks , The Town of Falmouth is not presenting you the entire truth again in the statement below :

The Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals is a semi quasi judicial board as authorized under Chapter 40A, Massachusetts General Laws. The decision not to permit Falmouth Wind I by the ZBA is a legal decision.

Quote from March 2016 Wind Turbine Expense Report :

"If both turbines cease operations and it is not due to a court order, the Town is required to pay the debt service on Wind 1 ($400,000 per year) , grant for Wind 2 ($5,000,000 plus interest), $120,000 per year in electricity for the wastewater treatment facility and must also repay Mass Clean Energy Center $998,000 for the REC’s pre-payed by the MassCEC and payable in full upon default plus annual interest back to the year 2009 for a total estimated cost of $1,400,000."

http://www.falmouthmass.us/energy/Wind%20Turbine%20Funding%20Expense.pdf

The entire truth is the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center formerly the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative could not sell two Vestas V 82 commercial 1.65 megawatt wind turbines even at an auction no one placed a bid. The MassCEC gave Falmouth 1 million dollars to take the first turbine and another 1.8 million later to pay litigation fees.

What every taxpayer in Falmouth needs to know is the 2005 KEMA wind study showed the turbines exceed 40 decibels in residential locations. In 2013 the MassCEC in an April 2013 memo to the Town of Falmouth admitted the noise studies were flawed prior to the installation of the turbines.

The admission:
" 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,” the memo reads. “

The quote is in here
https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/04/03/details-on-masscecs-april-2-memo-on-falmouth-turbines/

The bottom line here is the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center formerly the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative made the initial so called " mistake " in preliminary noise studies.

Had the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center formerly the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative used the actual figures from the 2005 KEMA noise study the turbines would never have been built.

It's time to call a spade a spade the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center formerly the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative misreprented the noise. They admited they over-estimated the likely acoustic impact. An extrapolation of the noise figures may be a better way to say it. An extrapolation to make it fit.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center formerly the Massachusetts Technology in 2005 was stuck with two embarrassing Vestas V-82 commercial wind turbines they couldn't sell at aution. Massachusetts a single party political state got local Falmouth officials to take the turbines for one million dollars up front - The result a massive health and finacial fiasco

Falmouth today is ground zero for poorly placed wind turbines in the United States 

Falmouth taxpayers are paying up to $300,000.00 every 6 months for legal fees.

Tell the town attorney to tell the MassCEC to pay to take down the turbines, pay all the loans and make the Town of Falmouth whole again. 

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MARCH 2016 - WIND TURBINE FUNDING REPORT

A. ACCOUNTS

1. Energy Stabilization Fund (account #830-3280-8140):

The energy stabilization fund was created to accept funds from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center paid to the town for Renewable Energy Certificates created over the life of the Wind 1 project.

These funds have been used as planned to support the debt service of this project in the early years of operation of Wind 1.

In Fiscal Year’s 2011-2014 the Town’s annual debt service obligation was appropriated by Town Meeting from the Energy Stabilization fund.

As anticipated, this account is now depleted with a total fund balance of $6,127.

C. EXPENSES

The Town of Falmouth is obligated to pay the debt service for Wind 1.

The annual debt service is approximately $400,000 each year, the actual debt service schedule is attached.

Other expenses are appropriated in the Town’s operating budget line items and are funded through general operations.

These include the following: Renewable Energy Budget (account#01-460-5319) required to fund an annual maintenance contract budget for $199,121 each year. Insurance (account #01-193-5740).

The annual insurance premium for wind turbines is approximately $50,000 per year and is included with the Overall Town Insurance budget.

Wind Turbine Funding Sources and Uses Prepared by the Finance Department and Office of the Town Manager March 29, 2016

This opinion article is truncated. The entire March funding report can be viewed at the link at the bottom of the page :

http://www.falmouthmass.us/energy/Wind%20Turbine%20Funding%20Expense.pdf