WIND TURBINES: WHAT ARE THEY HIDING WHAT DON'T THEY WANT YOU TO KNOW

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS ABOUT THESE DOCUMENTS -THEY REPRESENT YOU NOT SOME STATE AGENDA

Document : Vestas raises concerns about turbine noise (Letter)BruceMabbott- August 3, 2010 turbines generate 110 decibels

Document : April 2, 2013 memo from Massachusetts Clean Energy Staff to the MassCEC Board of Directors. In this document towards the end the MassCEC questions who is responsible for the poor placement of the wind turbine.The MassCEC staff admits the noise testing mistakes prior to the installation of Falmouth Wind turbine number one .

The April 2, 2013 memo came out a few weeks before the Town Meeting vote on taking down the turbines. They never informed Town Meeting then and they certainly need to get out in front of keeping the infomation from the public

TIME TO DEMAND ANSWERS
Residents & Taxpayers need answers:

Why did the Town of Falmouth hide the 2010 noise warning letter from Vestas wind company?
Why does the town continue to hide the letter ?

The news media has these documents why hasn’t there been a story ? Why are Town Meeting Members being kept in the dark ?

The news media makes reference to an April 2 2013 letter from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. It’s the memo on that day not the letter that is important.

Why is it that no one except the public officals and the media have seen the April 2, 2013 “ memo. “ Why don’t they want you to see the “ memo ? ”

Time to make the April 2, 2013 memo public !

The letter was made available through the FOIA, Freedom of Information Act to a select few.
The Town of Falmouth hid the letter to avoid the Special Permit process 240-166
The Special Permit process would have required additional studies and notifications to abutters

Names and addresses of property owners within the public outreach area as defined.

Engineering details. Fully identify the parties responsible for owning and operating the turbine.
Sound impact analysis- The Town of Falmouth was acutley aware the Vestas wind turbines were 6 decibels higher than the wind turbine noise study done in 2005.

The turbines would never have been built using a Special Permit the turbines are just too loud.

“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.”

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#.Ve9oyhFVikp