Falmouth ZBA Wind Turbine Draft Live FCTV 4/14/16

Falmouth ZBA Wind Turbine Agenda for: 4/14/16

FCTV, Falmouth Community Television will brodcast the meeting live 5:30 PM

59 TOWN HALL SQUARE, FALMOUTH, MA 02540
508-495-7460 – Fax 508-495-7463

AGENDA

April 14, 2016 – 5:30 PM
Board of Appeals Hearings & Open Meeting
Selectmen’s Meeting Room – Town Hall

5:30 PM: Open Meeting: Wind 1 Special Permit – Discussion and review of Draft Decision for possible vote

http://www.fctv.org/v3/content/government-channel-programming-schedule

Zoning Board of Appeals LIVE 5:30 PM 4/14/2016

Click this link to watch : http://www.fctv.org/v3/15live

Note # Brief history - FALMOUTH OFFICIALS LIED BY OMISSION TO TOWN MEETING MEMBERS :

The nature of the action taken by the Town of Falmouth hiding the Vestas 110 decibel noise warning did not advance the general interests of all the electric ratepayers of MassCEC's Renewable Energy Trust.

The Town of Falmouth has taken electric rate payer money from the MassCEC's Renewable Energy Trust overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER)

April 9 2013 Town Meeting voted against taking down the Falmouth turbines.

Town Meeting members were denied a memo received by the Town of Falmouth from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center on April 2, 2013 that they admitted the turbines had acoustic noise mistakes in the original tests

Town Meeting Members were also denied the Vestas noise warning letter-

Falmouth officials have established a pattern of lying by omission.

Please keep in mind the Town of Falmouth hid the 110 decibel noise warning letter for 5 years from the public. Vestas is the manufacturer of the wind turbines :

This shows that the turbine normally operates at 103.2 decibels of noise but the manufacturer has also stated that it may produce up to 110 decibels of noise

August 3, 2010
Mr. Gerald Potamis
WasteWater Superintendent
Town of Falmouth Public Works
59 Town Hall Square
Falmouth, 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.

We understand that a sound study is being performed to determine what, if any, Impacts the second turbine will have to the nearest residences. Please be advised that should noise concerns arise with this turbine, the only option to mitigate normal operating sound from the V82 is to shut down the machine at certain wind speeds and directions. Naturally this would detrimentally affect power production.

The manufacturer also needs confirmation that the Town of Falmouth understands they are fully responsible for the site selection of the turbine and bear all responsibilities to address any mitigation needs of the neighbors.

Finally, the manufacturer has raised the possibility of ice throw concerns. Since Route 28 is relatively close to the turbine, precautions should be taken in weather that may cause icing.

To date on this project we have been unable to move forward with signing the contract with Vestas. The inability to release the turbine for shipment to the project site has caused significant [SIC] delays in our project schedule. In order to move forward the manufacturer requires your understanding and acknowledgement of these risks. We kindly request for this acknowledgement to be sent to us by August 4, 2010, as we have scheduled a coordination meeting with Vestas to discuss the project schedule and steps forward for completion of the project.

Please sign in the space provided below to indicate your understanding and acknowledgement of this letter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me.
Sincerely,
(Bruce Mabbott’s signature)
_______________
Bruce Mabbott Gerald Potamis
Project Manager Town of Falmouth
CC: Sumul Shah, Lumus Construction, Inc.
(Town of Falmouth’s Wind-1 and Wind-2 Construction contractor)
Stephen Wiehe, Weston & Sampson
(Town of Falmouth’s contract engineers)
Brian Hopkins, Vestas
(Wind-1, Wind-2’s turbine manufacturer, and also Webb/NOTUS turbine)

http://www.windaction.org/posts/41357-vestas-raises-concerns-about-turbine-noise-letter#.VRKmG_nF9-c