Selectmen Limit Wind 1 Turbine Use

At its meeting on Monday night, the Board of Selectmen voted to limit the operations of the controversial Wind 1 wind-energy turbine at the Falmouth Wastewater Treatment Facility on Blacksmith Shop Road. The new regulations will force the town to shut down the turbine when the wind is moving faster than 10 meters per second, when the turbine is at its loudest.

Since it began operating in March 2010, the Wind 1 turbine—which stands nearly 400 feet tall from its base to the tip of its highest blade—has drawn criticism, often heated, from residents living nearby. The sound of the turbine's blades, loud and constant on windy days, is considered distracting by many. Potentially more serious, the low-frequency noise generated by the turbine, which are often not even audible, have been blamed for a variety of health and quality of life concerns.

Residents have complained of migraines, earaches, blurred vision, stomach upset, heightened blood pressure, and loss of sleep, as well as associated issues like anxiety, stress, and depression. Some have labeled the symptoms, taken together, as Wind Turbine Syndrome.

Residents fear property values will also be adversely effected, as potential buyers of homes in the immediate area may be scared off by the massive turbine, and the already widespread horror stories of its near neighbors.

Designed to save the town on its energy expenses, the Wind 1 turbine is estimated to be able to generate one and a half million kilowatt hours of electrical power per year, which could save the town upwards of half a million dollars annually.

However, complaints from residents with properties abutting the site of the turbine have been heard almost from the day it went into operation. The town conducted a noise study in September 2010, which found that the sound levels at nearby properties were within the limits set by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Residents in the neighborhood subsequently commissioned their own study, which found that the town's study did not accurately document the turbine's noise. In a letter to the town's Board of Health, Mass DEP also indicated that "some additional data analysis is required" to verify the town's study.

The board's decision carried no timetable for the new regulation's expiration, so it will remain in effect indefinitely, until a more permanent solution can be reached.