What it’s like to live near a wind turbine
8/5/09 | 10 comments
guest column

What it’s like to live near a wind turbine


Phil Bloomstein
OP ART BY MARK WEBER

We have the distinct “privilege” of living 1,000 feet from tower T3 of the Beaver Ridge Wind Project. We have tower T3 staring us right in the face year round.

As disturbing as the visual presence of a nearly 400-foot wind turbine is, that pales in comparison to the noise the turbines often produce. I would dare say we now live in one of the noisiest neighborhoods in Waldo County.

Before the turbines were erected on Beaver Ridge, I visited wind turbines in other towns with the knowledge that one was going to be built very close to my house. I came away thinking living next to one was going to be somewhat annoying but that it probably was going to be OK. I was encouraged by promises from Competitive Energy Services, the parent company of the developer Beaver Ridge Wind LLC.

The town of Freedom’s planning and permitting of the Beaver Ridge Wind Project was marked by deceptions, poor planning and small-town politics at its worst. Many community members were so pro-green they were susceptible to what I believe were the developer’s deceptive practices and blinded to the impact the turbines would have on their neighbors.

What is it really like living next to the turbines? There are “good days,” but there are way too many bad ones. Although the noise is almost always there, it is not constant in its intensity or type of sound. In minutes it can turn from a mildly annoying drone to a nightmarish pulsating noise so oppressive that any outdoor activity is challenging. The noise also penetrates into the house. Many nights the noise is very loud and the pulsating lasts right into the morning.

The wind industry, often in concert with well-meaning government officials and environmental activists, uses all of its power to diminish complaints and convince the general public that “wind farms” are quiet and that most folks don’t mind living next to them.

When CES came to Freedom, they assured us the turbines would be quiet. During the permitting process, they presented a study showing the noise level at our home hardly ever would be above 45 decibels, or dBa. The truth is the noise often exceeds the promised levels, many times twice as loud.

Documents can be found and downloaded on the Beaver Ridge Wind Web site that explain, “In some hilly terrain where residents are located in sheltered dips or hollows downwind from the turbines, turbine sounds may carry further and be more audible.”

Why was this not considered in our case?

Then there are the possible negative health effects. No matter that current studies are ongoing and still scientifically unproved, after a night of pulsating turbine noise I get up thinking this can’t be good for my family. I can only imagine what it would be like if one were predisposed to headaches, depression or a sleep disorder.

Perhaps you are thinking, well, someone has to suffer for the good of humanity, it might as well be the Bloomsteins. Maybe you are right, but does that give the developers and the wind energy industry the right to mislead residents about the real impact of living near turbines? I might be less angry if they had said you will be sacrificing the quiet rural life you once had for the good of the environment.

For us the damage is done. The turbines are up, and most likely they are not coming down for a long time.

So the question for my family and me is: What do we do? We have lived and worked on our property for the past 34 years. Do we leave the house we built, the gardens we’ve planted, the place my children and their children love? Or do we stay and learn to deal with the noise, worry about unknown health hazards, keep win-dows closed at night in the summer, sleep with earplugs on loud nights — whatever it takes to stay sane?

We seek justice in the form of adequate compensation and feel that we should not be forced to find it in the courts or make deals with the developer under conditions of confidentiality.

We also hope in some small way we can prevent others from suffering a similar fate.

Please don’t be so zealous in your support of alternative energy that you allow an industry, even a green one, to avoid any reasonable regulations.

There is no need to repeat the mistakes that were made in Freedom.

Phil Bloomstein of Freedom has been the director of technology in SAD 34 for the past 10 years.

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Comments
10 comments on this item
On 8/4/09 at 8:51 PM, EJParsons wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Phil - I feel for you and your family. If I were you I would put forward every law suit that can be filed for the lies, inconvenience, and potential health hazards these green beasts bear. I would also get out of there before permenant health and mental damages set in. These wind turbines might do some good, but they should not be anywhere near homes, schools, or any other place that people live or work.

They're also part of the green hoax and global warming scare that so many are falling for. We in America have access to more oil and natural gas than nearly all of the rest of the world combined, but the greenies won't let us drill for fear of hurting the environment. With all of the standards and regulations in place related to polution, there is not need for banning drilling for either oil or natural gas. Now they're after the coal industry, so many more unfortunate families around the states will have to live next to these turbine monsters. It's a shame that people are no longer considered important in this country. I really do feel for you and your family.

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On 8/5/09 at 7:54 AM, Orville wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

People in the Lincoln area will face this same problem if the DEP has its way. The DEP says there will be no noise problems from the two clusters of wind mills proposed for the area. There will be many times more tgurbines than in Freedom.

Residents have appealed the DEP decision and environmental attoney Lynne Williams of Bar Harbor will be appearing before the Board of Environmental Protection tomorrow (Thursday, August 6) to pursue the appeal on behalf of Friends of Lincoln Lakes It's not a public hearing where members of the public are allowed to speak, but it's an open meeting and those interested in how the BEP handles these issues should attend. It will be held at 1 p.m. at the Ground Round Restaurant at the Holiday Inn in Augusta, next to the Augusta Civic Center.

More on the hearing, including the full set of background papers, can be found at http://www.state.me.us/dep/bep/agenda.htm.

If you have concerns about big wind power, attend the hearing to see what you're up against.

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On 8/5/09 at 8:07 AM, AttheTopofMaine wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Phil - Thank you for sharing with us your experience living next to wind turbines. It is too bad that the wind industry, politicians, and money hungry landowners can do this to families such as yours and turn their homes into living nightmares. You have many people who sympathize with you. First Wind is currently courting landowners where I live up norh in Fort Kent. Our town is really divided when it comes to wind turbines. Would you condiser submitting your article to our local paper for publication? If so, you could fax it to the St. John Valley Times at 728-3825, or email it to them at news2@sjvalley-times.com. Thanks! We can use all the help we can in educating more people as to the problems wind turbines can present when they are located too close to homes.

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On 8/5/09 at 8:08 AM, berquis wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

As bad as I feel for the writer I am still not convinced that these turbines are a 'bad' thing. I don't want to start a 'war' with my comment. I just still feel that they will be good for us...

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On 8/5/09 at 8:39 AM, GeraldWeinand wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Perhaps this provides another reason to locate wind turbines well offshore, as the Ocean Energy Task Force is proposing.

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On 8/5/09 at 11:46 AM, mAineAc wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Well, they would put hese in places that do not affect people but then people cry you are destroying nature and our view. Personally I like the way they look. @EJParsons, so you think that wiping out entire mountains and surrounding communities for coal is valid but a when a few people complain about a little noise it is not valid resource?

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On 8/5/09 at 3:40 PM, EJParsons wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

mAineAc - Oil, natural gas, and coal are products that we can use efficiently and they are cheaper and better than wind turbines. Besides, with the regulations and modern techniques that have been applied in the last four decades, they don't raise the polution levels nor the carbon levels. When's the last time you heard of a smog alert in a major American city? As for the wind turbines, the savings do not kick in for these monstrosities for years after they are erected, and the locals rarely benifit from the power they produce. Those too close to these beasts can suffer long term health problems that can sneak up on them before they realize it. The risks to humans far outweigh their necessity. It's just a green money grab thing, if you know what I mean.

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On 8/5/09 at 9:39 PM, patom1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

EJParsons, what are the risks? Could it be that they endanger the oil or coal industry? Where is the documentation on long term health risks that you speak of?

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On 8/6/09 at 7:20 AM, Stevey_Dee wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

"I can only imagine what it would be like if one were predisposed to headaches, depression or a sleep disorder. "

I smell lawsuit.....

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On 8/6/09 at 8:34 PM, blueskiesaboveme wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Id rather live next to wind turbines than a coal, oil, nuclear, hydro power plants anyday.

Gerald Weinand has a good point about putting them offshore.

But I'd like to see windturbines everywhere. Line em up along the highways too.

I'd like to see Bath Iron works making Wind turbines too.

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