Massachusetts Gov. "Tall Deval" Wind Turbine Wind Health Fiasco

The turbines have no permits as the town knew in advance of installations the foreign-built turbines generate 110 decibels of noise each for a total of 113 decibels.

Multiple Massachusetts courts determined the turbines a nuisance to nearby residents after up to eleven lawsuits and multiple appeals to those lawsuits by the Town of Falmouth.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker aka "Tall Deval" testified before the House Natural Resources Committee in February of 2019. Baker has achieved the name "Tall Deval" because he is taller than former Governor Deval Patrick but continues to follow the same failed wind turbine agenda in Massachusetts.

Tall Deval explained to Congress the “well-intended effort in Falmouth” failed in some respects due to how and where the turbines were sited. The governor omitted that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection under the executive branch of government ( Gov Deval Patrick) brokered a 5 million federal ARRA loan on the town's second wind turbine.

Today in 2020 Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is allowing the Town of Falmouth to use a 5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act fund loan on the second Falmouth town-owned wind turbine to run the day to day operations of the Town of Falmouth.

Outside legal counsel hired by the state of Massachusetts in 2013 has advised that Wind II (Falmouth wind turbine #2) is subject to specific provisions of ARRA and applicable federal regulations and guidelines ("Federal Law') in addition to the terms and conditions of the Project Regulatory Agreement ("PRA") and the Loan Agreement brokered by MassDEP associated with the funding of Wind II.

Under Federal Law and the 5 million PRA and Loan Agreement, the Town must maintain Wind II as an "energy efficiency" project, as described in EPA guidelines dated March 2, 2009, or pay back the loan plus 2 percent interest. Time to pay up was June of 2017 when the courts shut down the turbines.

Governor Baker at the hearings said: “My father always used to say that there are two things: There’s doing the right thing and then there’s doing the thing right. And doing the right thing and doing it wrong doesn’t necessarily solve the problem.” How about the 5 million loans using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds overseen from the governor's office?

The Town Meeting of Falmouth voted 2.5 million and more down the road to move and operate the old gear-driven wind turbines out of town and operate them at a new location.

Town Meeting Members are unaware that the costs for a commercial wind turbine in 2020 range from about $1.3 million to $2.2 million per megawatt of nameplate capacity installed. Most of the commercial-scale turbines installed today are 2 megawatts in size and cost roughly $3-$4 million installed.

The bottom line is Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is ignoring Falmouth owes the state revolving fund 3.5 million plus 2 percent interest. This money would go back in the SRF to other worthwhile renewable energy projects.

The ARRA funds should be repaid before any ocean wind turbine projects go forward.

FALMOUTH SPECIAL TOWN MEETING JUNE 2009 - 5 Million ARRA Loan Wind Turbine #2

Video starts after 14 minutes of advertising :