Senate Bill 185 and Assembly Bill 265 are scheduled to come to the floor for a vote next week.
The senate vote is scheduled for Tuesday and the assembly votes on Wednesday.
If you'd like to contact your legislator to let them know how you feel about this bill and what you'd like them to do, CLICK HERE.
On September 12, the Maine Medical Assocation adopted the following important resolution relating to wind turbines and public health.
Maine Medical Association
Resolution RE: Wind Energy and Public Health
WHEREAS, proposals to locate and build wind energy facilities in the State have at times proven controversial, due to concerns regarding potential effects of such facilities on the public health, and
WHEREAS, the trade off between the public good of generating electricity and the adverse health effects warrant appropriate evidence-based scientific research, and
WHEREAS, assessing the potential health impact of wind turbines has been difficult to measure but if present would be of significant concern. This is especially apparent regarding the noise level and other noise characteristics specific to industrial wind turbines, and
WHEREAS, there is a need for modification of the State's regulatory process for siting wind energy developments to reduce the potential for controversy regarding siting of grid-scale wind energy development and to address health controversy with regulatory changes to include, but not limited to:
a) Refining certain procedures of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission to reflect scientific evidence regarding potential health effects, and to further explore such potential health effects;
b) Judging the effects of wind energy development on potential public health by avoiding unreasonable noise and shadow flicker effects, with development setbacks and incorporating up to date noise regulations specific for industrial wind turbines adequate to protect public health and safety.
Therefore be it resolved that the Maine Medical Association work with health organizations and regulatory agencies to provide scientific information of known medical consequences of wind development in order to help safeguard human health and the environment.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Maine Medical Association 1) work with other stakeholders to encourage performance of studies on health effects of wind turbine generation by independent qualified researchers at qualified research institutions; 2) ensure that physicians and patients alike are informed of evidence-based research results.
CLICK HERE to read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal story about land values in wind farms.
Critics say wind turbines hurt land values:
"The study found property values have fallen by at least 19% for sales of land near the We Energies wind farm in Fond du Lac County, and at least 12% for sales of land near Invenergy LLC's Forward Wind project in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties, a report by Appraisal Group One says."
Wisconsin Wind Farm Home for Sale near the Town of Pipe
CLICK on the images below to see homes located in our newest Wisconsin wind farms.