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 …

Falmouth selectmen, finance committee stand firm on removing turbines

An interesting development in the efforts to the public from wind turbine noise.

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

Gov. LePage: “Yes, my fellow Mainers (read, Vinalhaven), you are paying higher rates for electricity to subsidize wind power. That is wrong.”

You can’t make this stuff up: Vinalhaven ratepayers are paying more for electricity than if the wind turbines had never been built and the property of neighbors has been turned into “sacrifice zones” because of the noise from these uneconomic, wishful industrial wind turbines. Here is what Gov. LePage has to say:

The following is the weekly message from Governor Paul R. LePage. To listen to the audio visit the Governor’s website.

Hello. This is Governor Paul LePage.

My fellow Mainers, I do not like being the bearer of disturbing news. But someone has to have the courage to tell the truth. Mainers are paying considerably more than you should for electricity.

Wisconsin: proposed bill to allow people to sue over wind turbine damages

Wisconsin Ag Connection – 03/29/2013

Wisconsin State Senator Frank Lasee says he plans to introduce legislation that would give families that have been physically, emotionally or financially harmed by industrial wind turbines the legal right to sue for damages.

As part of the measure, Lasee says his bill will enable anyone who is harmed by 500-foot industrial wind turbines the ability to sue the wind tower owner, as well as the owner of the land on which the tower is located, for loss of property value, cost of moving, medical expenses, pain and suffering, attorney fees, and any other loss as a result of the industrial wind turbine that is too close to their home or property.

“This bill makes it easier for families that have been hurt by industrial wind turbines to receive compensation for their losses,” Senator Lasee said. “It is unconscionable for a family that has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in their home that they have lived in for years to be forced to move because an industrial wind tower is built nearby. Or wish that they could move and just can’t afford it.”

The bill prohibits wind tower owners or the owners of the land they are sited on, located less than 1.5 miles from the residence of the plaintiff from using as a defense the fact that the wind tower obtained a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Public Service Commission or was approved by a local government. He adds that this ability to sue was what eventually led to the correction of the stray voltage problem that was harming families and farm animals. Like wind tower damages, stray voltage was denied until proven in court.

“Despite personal testimony and scientific evidence that industrial wind turbines hurt people and their animals, the wind industry continues to push forward with plans to locate their 500 foot towers too close to people’s homes,” he noted.

Willem Post: small scale wind power costs in Vermont, explode for ratepayers

The only way to understand whether economics of wind power really deliver benefits is to analyze the underlying costs. Here is Willem Post’s analysis of small scale wind power facilities that are being advocated for Vermont. One can apply the same reasoning to Vinalhaven and other locations in Maine, where the benefits of wind power are misrepresented:

“Rep. Oliver Olsen, R-Londonderry, launched a hue and cry over what he
deemed a regressive tax proposal designed to subsidize renewable
investors who receive subsidies through the Clean Energy Development
Fund.”

The cost of the SPEED program for projects 2.2 MW or less, appears to
be on auto-pilot and is about to balloon, based on a spreadsheet
analysis of published state data.

“Lessons from New York”

“Lessons from New York”

—Jack Sullivan, MS (Nuclear Physics, Cornell University), Rutland
Herald 2/14/13

As Vermonters grapple with the pros and cons of industrial wind power,
many of their questions may be answered by studying the track record of
northern New York wind projects.

This area has been host to hundreds of turbines for nearly five years.
The wind resource of northern Vermont is very close to that of northern
New York. We can certainly expect nearly the same performance from
turbines in both locations. I have tracked four northern New York
projects since their inception with a comprehensive study centered on
the Noble Chateaugay project, which has 71 GE 1.5 SLE turbines and is
capacity-rated at 106.5 megawatts. The capacity rating is the maximum
sustained output of the project.

The actual annual output of the Chateaugay was only 23 megawatts,
giving an efficiency (capacity factor ) of 21.6 percent. The other
northern New York projects had similar capacity factors. This is quite
far removed from the 30 percent to 35 percent commonly predicted by
wind developers.

Bangor Daily News: Court tells DEP to lower nighttime noise levels on Saddleback wind farm

Next up: Vinalhaven.

Court tells DEP to lower nighttime noise levels on Saddleback wind farm

By Judy Harrison, BDN Staff
Posted March 05, 2013, at 1:16 p.m.
Last modified March 05, 2013, at 2:34 p.m.

PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday vacated a decision by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection over nighttime sound requirements for the Saddleback Ridge Wind Project in Carthage, Canton and Dixfield.

The court unanimously agreed with the groups’ appeal of a ruling by the Board of Environmental Protection that backed the DEP’s decision that the nighttime noise level for the windmills should be at or below 45 decibels. Writing for the court, Justice Warren Silver said the nighttime decibel level should be 42 or below.

Portsmouth, RI: Town considers what to do with broken wind turbine

Portsmouth Rhode Island
Council Hears Wind Turbine Proposals

The Portsmouth Town Council took no votes Monday night on what to do with the town’s broken wind turbine generator.
By Sandy McGee

The Portsmouth Town Council heard a number of possible outcomes for the town’s wind turbine generator, but did not vote during public and executive session on Monday night.

The town council is weighing possible options for its broken wind turbine generator, which has been stopped since last May.

Last July, the town council learned repairing the wind turbine next to Portsmouth High School could cost the town anywhere from $200,000 to $1.5 million.

“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 …