Ethics on Dartmouth Wind Turbines ? Honesty ?

[Bill Carson]

The commercial wind industry needs to look at what's going on in Massachusetts. We now have a town in Dartmouth where the Chairman of the Alternative Energy Committee is also a wind turbine consultant / specialist and members of the Select Board are on the AEC. This may be legal but how ethical?
Meetings to educate the public have been postponed over and over as to make residents around the turbines give up trying to go to the meetings.
http://www.town.dartmouth.ma.us/altenergy/WT%...
WIND TURBINE FEARS VERSUS FACTS
Recently the New Bedford Standard-Times reported (9/28/2009) that “75 opponents” to a proposed wind turbine project for the town of Dartmouth DPW facilities showed up at a Select Board meeting and indicated concerns “about noise, a flicker effect caused by the blades of the turbine, their sleep being disturbed and a possible drop in valuations of their homes.” Two residents on Chase Road and others claimed “they were never notified about the project.”
Here are the facts.
The Alternative Energy Committee (AEC) has been working on this project for over five years. Over that time, two separate bylaws for wind turbines were drawn up, debated in public, discussed at two Town Meetings, and passed unanimously. A DVD was produced and placed in town libraries. A series of three articles on wind power, written by the AEC, was published in the Standard-Times. As the present project evolved through the wind assessment process and preliminary feasibility studies, several public presentations have been given at Select Board meetings and Town Meetings, all televised. A web site was created, linked to the Dartmouth home page, on which all important documents related to the project can be found. Numerous meetings, going back to 2005, of the AEC have been announced and held, but only those over the last few months have drawn the attention of residents, including the aforementioned Chase Road residents. I, as AEC chairman, have spoken on the phone and in person to several residents who live in the vicinity of the project, including the aforementioned Chase Road residents. In short, the AEC has done everything it can to bring this project to the attention of all town residents and anyone else with an interest in alternative energy.
With regard to the expressed concerns, here are the facts which have been determined by the engineering firm, Atlantic Design Engineers (ADE), hired by the town after a unanimously authorization at the June 2009 Town Meeting and displayed in various forms on the AEC web page.
NOISE – The amount of noise that would be contributed by the two 1.65 megawatt turbines above normal ambient sounds – at the boundary of the DPW property closest to residences – is less than the human ear is capable of detecting. The absolute increase in sound level is about 1 decibel on the A-scale. Residences are all located farther away than the property boundary so that the increase in sound at the residences will be even less. Thus no one in their homes or on their property will be able to hear any noise coming from the turbines.
FLICKER – The flicker effect for the project has been studied by ADE and the results can be found on the AEC web page. In short, the worst case of flicker occurs at one particular residence and may result in roughly 20 hours per year of flicker. The effect may be partially or completely eliminated if the residence has trees or shrubs or other buildings that screen the residence from the turbine. There are about 18 other residences that might get between 10 and 19 hours of flicker per year and another 348 residences
that might get between 1 and 9 hours of flicker per year
PROPERTY VALUES – The value of one’s property is determined by the sales of similar homes in the area.

[Mary E Delany]

They make it sound likr it's OK if 348 residents get this shadow flicker -strobe light affect through their windows all day. Imagine how much of this flicker affect they'll really get if this town wind turbine group admits they will get .

Cheap land for sale in Dartmouth and it sounds like they must have some rednecks running that town. You would think an investagative news story would take place about the abuse ?

[Mark Rogers -]

The Town of Dartmouth as of today 11/30/09 only has approval for one wind turbine from the FAA. They have a permit completed on Nov 20/2009 that they say is ready to go.

Leaving information out of a permit application is the same as a liar ! Do you trust them ?

[Linda Urlik]

Noise - Wind turbines cause a steady, low-decibel sound that can be heard within a short distance.
Visual pollution - Visual pollution refers to the unwanted obstruction or intrusion into someone's view of the landscape.
Vandalism - Wind towers or related equipment may be damaged by vandals on landowner property.
Access roads - Access roads are a necessary component of a wind development project. Making sure the natural flow of water is not impeded by road construction is important.
Construction period - Construction activity could include damage to overhead and underground power lines and communication cables, tile lines, natural drains, road surfaces and neighboring property.
Ice shedding - Ice falling from tower or blades may be a hazard to humans or animals and may cause damage to structures or vehicles below.
Blade drop/throw - Blades may become damaged because of structural failure or imbalance. Blades or parts of blades may fall and cause damage below.
Shadow flicker - The shadow effect of moving turbine blades may cause health issues.
Fire - A fire or electrical short could occur in the generator, transformer or lines. Fire could cause damage to cropland, grassing land or dwellings.
Stray voltage - Stray voltage may be a concern for humans and animals.
Electromagnetic fields - Electromagnetic fields may cause interference with electrical devices. These fields may have long-term health effects to humans or animals.
Lightening strikes - High towers are of concern because they may attract lightning. Lightning strikes could affect humans, farm animals, wildlife and man-made structures. They also could create a risk of crop or prairie fires.
Communications - Turbines may generate electromagnetic noise or physically obstruct signals.
Microwave and radar stations - Towers may obstruct point-to-point signals of telecommunications and weather transmissions.
TV and radio signals - Interference may occur with TV and radio signals.
Police/fire/ambulance radio signals - Public safety signals could be disrupted.
Bird kill - Bird and bat casualties are a reality of wind tower development. The Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act may be factors in tower placement.
Water - Water pollution is a consideration during the construction phase.
Air - Air pollution may occur during construction excavation by producing air-borne elements. This situation is usually temporary.