Wind power’s grip on Augusta weakening

Great article by Naomi Schalit and John Christie, The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting

Wind power’s grip on Augusta weakening
Rural Maine communities protest turbines, which they say deface ‘God’s country,’ but wind developers say they’ve invested too much money to be shut out now.
Portland Press Herald, May 21, 2013

They came from the townships and plantations of Concord, Lexington, Highland, Carrying Place and Pleasant Ridge. They set out for the statehouse in Augusta from the five sparsely populated backcountry communities set between the Kennebec and Carrabassett rivers, from a wooded intervale etched by streams, dappled by lakes and cradled by the hills and mountains of western Maine.

Wind act doesn’t treat all Mainers equally
The Wind Energy Act doesn’t treat every Maine citizen the same – some have more rights that others.
For example, the communities in the Unincorporated Territory that the Act put in the “expedited” permitting zone lost their right to weigh in on land use changes that would allow wind power to be built. Yet their neighbors just one community over who aren’t in the expedited zone still have the same rights they always had.
Norman Kalloch testified on L.D. 616 — even though his township, just north of Highland Plantation, isn’t in the expedited wind area.
“We, as residents of Carrying Place Town Township can participate in our township’s future through public hearings regarding zoning changes required for any high impact development including grid-scale wind development,” Kalloch told legislators. “By contrast, if the same wind project is proposed on the other side of the township line in Highland, our friends and neighbors there would have no opportunity or means to participate that is comparable to ours.”
And in the developed part of the state, residents of incorporated towns in the expedited zone there also have greater ability to act when wind power projects are proposed. They can pass their own restrictive ordinances to limit or ban wind power development. Finally, the Wind Energy Act of 2008 allowed state regulators to add areas to the expedited zone. But it included no provisions to take areas out, short of going back to the legislature and passing a bill.
Why are these communities treated differently? That’s not possible to determine because the members of the wind task force that made a map designating the expedited permitting area kept no minutes of the meetings discussing the map.

As they left, many of them passed a neatly lettered sign at the intersection of Long Falls Dam and Sandy Stream roads. The sign summed up what they were going to say to legislators later that day: “This is God’s Country. Don’t let wind towers come here and make it look like hell.”

Wind Power and the Maine Legislature 2013

An interesting story in the Bangor Daily News: “Gov. LePage wants wind energy goals out of Maine law“. The LePage administration is finally doing what should have been done all along: realistic, science-based assessment whether the rush to wind either saves consumers money or reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Proving the first is easier than the second, because consumers can simply compare their electric bills (on Vinalhaven, those costs are far higher than promised by the Fox Islands Wind supporters). But in both cases, the facts are gradually emerging.

Fox Islands Wind Neighbors respond to DEP, on “Wind Turbine Compliance Report” by FIW

For most of the summer of 2012, Fox Islands Wind’s acoustic measuring and recording devices did not work, yet the wind turbine operator decided its report meets the requirements of state law.  Read the neighbors’ response, here:

re FIW Compliance Report

“The Acentech study (for the wind turbine operator, FIW) provided 10 minutes samples for only six (6) days out of the entire period from May 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012. For those six days, only 24 ten (10) minutes samples are presented representing a total of only three hours or (180) minutes. This represents … 0.135% of the total time. … the Compliance Study has no scientific foundation for its conclusions that the data shows the Fox Island Wind Project to be in compliance.” Rick James, E-Coustic Solutions

Ontario: Wind turbines have reduced property values, court says

Wind turbines have reduced property values, court says
By: John Spears Business reporter
Published on Tue Apr 23 2013

An Ontario court says that landowners near a proposed wind farm have suffered diminished property values.

A lawyer for the landowners says the decision will clear the way for more actions against both wind developers and those who lease their land for wind turbines.

Will Fox Islands Wind do better with compliance noise measuring THIS summer?

This is taken from the 2012 summer compliance report by Fox Islands Wind, the wind turbine operator on Vinalhaven. During a period of litigation and scrutiny, FIW did not even take care to be sure its noise measurement equipment was recording sound data carefully. It is as though FIW does not even care …

Public letter regarding Maine Superior Court action and Fox Islands Wind Neighbors

It is now three years since the three 1.5 megawatt industrial wind turbines changed the lives of nearby Vinalhaven residents. In its December newsletter, the wind turbine operator Fox Islands Wind and Fox Islands Electric Cooperative prepared ratepayers for an appeal of any decision by Maine Superior Court in the favor of neighbors. Oral arguments are anticipated in Augusta later this summer.

The final reply brief details what Fox Islands Wind Neighbors want:

1) That the Maine Department of Environmental Protection be directed …

Fox Islands Wind Neighbors reply brief in Maine Superior Court

The reply brief, filed in Maine Superior Court, rebuts arguments by FIW and the State of Maine.

Petitioners’ Rule 80C Reply Brief

“How Much Proof Do We Need?” by Malcolm Gladwell

Those who are skeptical about the science of noise impacts from industrial wind turbines might watch and listen to this lecture. The desire for proof as an excuse not to do anything …

Full brief submitted by Fox Islands Wind Neighbors to Maine Superior Court

Last week, attorney Rufus Brown filed a brief on behalf of aggrieved neighbors of the Vinalhaven (ME) wind turbines with Maine Superior Court. The filing represents a summation of the case related to noise from the turbines that has turned the lives of nearby residents upside down.

The full brief is available, here:
Petitioners’ Rule 80C Brief (as filed)

For additional information and background, click this link.

In its December 2012 newsletter to ratepayers, FIW and Fox Islands Electric Cooperative prepared ratepayers …

James Lovelock, founder of Gaia and Green movement, decries industrial wind turbines

To all the environmentalist on Vinalhaven and North Haven who embrace the idea that the public good is served by industrial wind turbines; please read the following Dec. 2012 communication from James Lovelock, founder of the Gaia movement:

James-Lovelock-Letter

“I am an environmentalist and founder member of the Greens but I bow my head in shame at the thought that our original good intentions should have been so misunderstood and misapplied. We never intended a fundamentalist Green movement that rejected all energy sources other than renewable, nor did we expect the Greens to cast aside our priceless ecological heritage because of their failure to understand that the needs of the Earth are not separable from human needs. We need take care that the spinning windmills do not become like the statues on Easter Island, monuments of a failed civilisation.”

Well, those monuments are on North Haven Road.

Sacrifice Zone of Industrial Wind Turbines on Vinalhaven, Maine

The following youtube clip was not taken on Vinalhaven but it does demonstrate noise levels affecting the health, peace and quiet, and property values of homeowners in the sacrifice zone of the Fox Islands Wind turbines.

A clear explanation of wind turbine noise and its effects

From the website: The Energy Collective, by Willem Post

WIND TURBINE INFRASOUND AND LOW FREQUENCY NOISE

The von Trapp family came to Vermont, because it reminded them of Austria, where “the hills are alive with the sounds of music”. Those sounds will soon be replaced by the health-damaging infrasound and low frequency noise from 3 MW wind turbines on 2,000-ft high ridgelines, courtesy of GMP/Gaz-Metro-Canada.

GMPs 21 wind turbines of the Lowell Mountain facility will emit various noises, such as: 

Wind industry lobbyist apologizes

Lobbyist for wind power apologizes to Vt. panel
By DAVE GRAM
Associated Press / April 24, 2013

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A lobbyist for an industry group supporting wind power apologized to a Vermont Senate committee on Wednesday after a witness she brought in called health concerns connected with wind power ‘‘hoo-hah,’’ nonsense and propaganda.

Gabrielle Stebbins, executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont, called the remarks of acoustics expert Geoff Levanthall unhelpful and offered an apology to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee after Leventhall testified at the hearing by phone from England.

‘‘There’s no scientific evidence behind what they (critics of wind power) say,’’ Leventhall said. ‘‘It’s all made-up, make-believe, trying to find something to object to, and trying to find something that will be difficult to disprove. It’s a technique, a propaganda technique, and they’ve been very, very effective.’’

Afterward, Stebbins said she regretted Leventhall’s comments. ‘‘I don’t think that’s helpful for the debate and, for the record, I do apologize for that.’’

Stebbins’ comments came at the end of the hearing in which two Vermont doctors — one of them critical of a wind power project near his home in Ira and of the industry generally — testified about what they said were ill health effects connected with wind power among people living near the turbines.

Leventhall did describe for the committee low-frequency, inaudible ‘‘infrasound,’’ that some blame on problems connected with wind turbines but that he said have less of an impact on people than sounds generated within the body, like the heartbeat.

The committee also heard from Luann Therrien, a Sheffield resident who said she and her husband have suffered severe sleep loss leading to depression since 16 turbines operated by First Wind began operating within about two miles of their home, with the closest being about a half mile away.

‘‘We did not oppose the project, not until it was up and running and creating noise,’’ Therrien said. ‘‘I have constant ringing in my ears that can be very distracting. My husband has been feeling so bad that he is currently unable to work. His doctor has pulled him from his job.’’

Discussion centered on sleep loss due to audible sounds from the turbines and on infrasound, the low-frequency noise inaudible to human ears but which some doctors have linked to ill health effects — sometimes called wind turbine syndrome.

Dr. Sandy Reider, a primary care provider practicing in Lyndonville, told the committee he had seen ‘‘a half dozen or so patients who are suffering from living in proximity to these turbines.’’ He told of one particularly tough case of a 33-year-old, healthy man who developed problems after a wind turbine began operation on Burke Mountain near his home.

The man ‘‘began to experience increasingly severe insomnia, waking multiple times at night with severe anxiety and heart palpitations, and experiencing during the daytime pressure headaches, nausea, ringing in his ears and difficulty concentrating,’’ Reider said.

Letter to Editor: Wind turbines, property values, and quality of place

As rural hills and mountain tops in Maine are rapidly developed by the wind industry, we must give thought to the impacts these projects have on Maine’s tourism industry and local property values. Below is an excerpt from a letter submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection which is available on the DEP website and was written by Rainer and Gaby Engle of Switzerland, who bought their “American dream get-away” in Lincoln a few years ago. The DEP is considering granting a permit to First Wind build an industrial wind facility on mountain ridges overlooking the Downeast Lakes region. The Engles know first-hand what kind of impact the Rollins wind project has had on the value of lakefront property in the nearby Lincoln Lakes region. I know the Engles personally and know their well-kept, attractive cabin is just 3 feet from the water’s edge at Upper Pond, and the property has 550 feet of shore-frontage. Once the Rollins project was built, the owners faced 21 turbines – the sounds and sights of which dominated their lakeside experience. They lost their enjoyment in the property and listed their property for sale. The Engles state in their letter, “We try to sell our camp since almost two years now: but no one is inquiring, since no one wants to see industry. One comes to Maine for nature and recreation. Getting away…” What happens when a high-impact industrial facility creates, in essence, a “taking” of our property values — for some, our only investment? “Quality of place” is a big selling point in Maine. What happens when the quality of place disappears? Karen Bessey Pease Lexington Township http://bangordailynews.com/2013/04/23/opinion/letters/wednesday-april-24-2013-wind-civil-rights-and-young-citizens/

From Victoria, Australia: local government steps back from wind turbines due to noise and health concerns

“… At least one family from Macarthur has completely abandoned their home due to sleep disturbance from wind turbine noise and several other neighbours take refuge away from their homes on a regular basis to prevent the cumulative impacts of turbine noise on sleep quality from completely destroying their health. These impacts were entirely predictable and the inevitable consequence of siting large industrial wind turbines too close to homes and workplaces”, she said.”

and …

“The global wind industry is well aware of NASA research from 1985 10 documenting the presence of wind turbine generated infrasound out to at least 10km”, Dr Laurie stated. There is no evidence that chronic exposure to these infrasound and low frequencies generated by large wind turbines is safe, despite the claims of the VESTAS CEO, and more engineering and health professionals speaking out publicly. 11 If this were a pharmaceutical, adequate safety tests would have been done before it was released onto the market. Why are the rules relating to the health safety of the public different for the wind industry?”

Media Release VCAT confirm damage to sleep and health

From Friends of Maine Mountains … a legislative update

Augusta Update
April 9, 2013

A Question of Tolerance

Yesterday, FMM President Rand Stowell presented testimony to the Legislature’s Environment & Natural Resources Committee.  He spoke in favor of LD 1028 and LD 1147, which seek to restore the balance between industrial wind development and its visual impact on Maine’s most treasured rural landscapes. Below is the text of a follow-up letter that Rand sent today to Senator Geoffrey Gratwick, who is a member of the Committee. The letter cuts to the essence of FMM’s mission.

Dear Senator Gratwick:

It was a pleasure yesterday to testify before you in the Environment & Natural Resources Committee. 

If more elected officials paid attention to this, we would all be better off …

Counting the hidden costs of energy

Posted on 22 March 2013 by Barry Brook

When comparing power sources, we have to take the costs of system effects into account.

By Martin Nicholson andBarry Brook. This article was first published on The Conversation. A response was then published onBusiness Spectator. It is worth reading both pieces, and the comments that followed them (for instance, Martin’s reply).

A recent Bloomberg press release got wide coverage with its claim that wind power is now cheaper than coal. But a new report from the OECD shows that when you cover the full cost to the grid, variable renewables like wind don’t add up as favourably.

It is often claimed that introducing variable renewable energy resources such as solar and wind into the electricity network comes with some extra cost penalties, due to “system effects”. These system effects include intermittent electricity access, network congestion, instability, environmental impacts, and security of supply.

Now a new report from the OECD titled System Effects of Low-Carbon Electricity Systems gives some hard dollar values for these additional imposts. The OECD work focuses on nuclear power, coal, gas, and renewables such as wind and solar. Their conclusion is that grid-level system costs can have significant impacts on the total cost of delivered electricity for some power-generation technologies.

All generation technologies cause system effects to some degree. They are all connected to the same transmission and distribution grid structure and deliver electricity into the same market. They also exert impacts on each other, on the total load available to satisfy demand, and the stability of the grid’s frequency control. These dependencies are heightened by the fact that only small amounts of cost-efficient electricity storage are available.

Quebec: due to health concerns, no turbines within 2 km of of residents

Patrice Laflamme, TVA Nouvelles, 3/25/13

The Quebec government has officially endorsed the amended interim control (RCI) of the Haut-Saint-Laurent surrounding these structures in its territory, which the council of mayors adopted on 9 January.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy (MAMROT), Sylvain Gaudreault, approved the new RCI in a letter dated March 13.

“The Regulation respects the policies of the government in terms of development. Therefore, under the Planning Act and planning, it shall take effect the day on which this notice is served,” the minister said in this letter for the prefect of the MRC, Alain Castagner.

In the territory of Haut-Saint-Laurent, this revised version of RCI forbids the erection of wind turbines 2000 m (2 km) from any dwelling and 1000 m (1 km) from any public road.