What's wrong with this picture? Home in WeEnergies wind project near Towns of Marshfield and Malone, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin 2011. The blades on this turbine weigh about 8 tons each with a tip speed of nearly 200 miles an hour.

Photo by Better Plan Wisconsin.

7:40 PM. “Wind SSW, 12 MPH, 18.8 rpms. The jet noise is like last hour and now I also easily hear turbine 73 along with turbines 4 and 6. Inside our house I hear thumping and humping no matter which room I go to. It is hell. Hell may be better

A Wisconsin family's life has been turned upside down by noise from 400 foot wind turbines in the PSC-approved Invenergy wind project near the Town of Byron in Fond Du Lac County. Sleep deprivation from turbine noise has been the number one problem for this household since the turbines started turning.

CLICK HERE to the read daily turbine noise log kept by the Meyer family.

WIND TURBINE NOISE LOG, JANUARY 27, 2012

4:35AM. It was another night of sleep deprivation. I worked hard for 12 hours yesterday. I should have had a sound nights sleep, but not so in an Invenergy wind factory.

I was woke from sleep numerous times by turbine noise and low frequency noise. I only wrote down 2:07, 2:51 and 3:55. I tried to get back to sleep so I did not pay attention to the clock other times I was woke. After 4:00 AM I did not sleep. I got up to watch the news and was bombarded with thumping and pounding noise from the turbines in our family room.

7:10 AM. Wind NW, 10 MPH, 18.4 rpms. The noise from turbine 4 is like that of a jet flying over. Turbine 6 is 3300 feet away and is thumping and pounding. There is turbine noise from all directions this morning.

5:35 PM. Wind SSW, 12 MPH, 18.6 rpms. I just stepped out of the house and heard what sounded like two F-16s flying by. Yes, I know the sound they make because they fly over Madison when we visit. Those F-16s were turbines 4 and 6.

Turbine 6 was just as loud as turbine 4 even though it is 3300 feet away. I next went in my wood shed where the noise was more of a thumping and pounding much like listening to my heart in a stethoscope.

I then went in my shop where there also was the thumping and pounding noise. It is impossible to escape the horrendous noise without driving away.

7:40 PM. “Wind SSW, 12 MPH, 18.8 rpms. The jet noise is like last hour and now I also easily hear turbine 73 along with turbines 4 and 6. Inside our house I hear thumping and humping no matter which room I go to. It is hell. Hell may be better

8;20 PM, Wind SSW, 18.2 rpms. The jet noise continues now from turbines 4 and 73.

WIND TURBINE NOISE LOG: JANUARY 28, 2012

5:10  AM. It was another bad night of sleep because of noise from the turbines. People say “You will get used to it”.

That is not true. That statement could only come from someone who doesn't live with turbine noise.  Do you get used to having the radio between stations, or fingers scratching over the chalk board or your child continuously turning the lights on and off?

We have not gotten used to it. The effects of sleep deprivation has only gotten worse. As I write this I hear the thumping and pounding noise from the turbines. I could hear it from bed just a short while ago before I got up.

The pounding sound or low frequency noise from the turbine woke me up at 1:30. I was still awake at 1:55. I was woke again at 3:01, 3:35, 4:07 and 4:27. I no longer slept after 4:27 and soon got up. Besides being woke up numerous time during the night my sleep was very restless. At this moment I have a headache and feel warm on my face like my skin wants to shrivel up. Stressed. Exhausted too.

5:25 PM. Wind SW, 18.2 rpms. There is a loud jet sound from the turbine. In my wood shed there is a thumping and pounding noise. It's often louder indoors than outdoors. The house and sheds seem to act like drums and the pounding feels like it's coming from every direction. I say 'feel'. You can feel it not just hear it.

9:55 PM, Wind SW. The air at ground level feels calm. Above is a loud jet noise and the sound and feeling of the sky being torn open by the heavy turbine blades. Each one weighs close to nine tons. Imagine three nine ton blades with a span that is wider than a 747 and a tip speed of close to 200 miles an hour spinning over your home.

How are you ever going get used to that? How are you ever going to get used to not being able to sleep at night?

Video courtesy of The Forest Voice-- Residents speak about life with 500 foot turbines in the Shirley wind project, Brown County, Wisconsin.

AID FOR WIND TURBINE VICTIMS SOUGHT

Brown Co. panel: State should pay medical bills for those near wind farm

by Doug Schneider,

via Green Bay Press-Gazette, www.greenbaypressgazette.com

January 26, 2012 

Supervisor Patrick Evans said the government must do more to protect citizens until more is known about potential dangers, saying at least two local families living near wind farms have abandoned their homes and others lost thousands of dollars because livestock died mysteriously. “This problem is very real,” he said.

Wisconsin should pay the medical bills of Brown County residents who were made ill by industrial wind turbines, some county supervisors say.

Saying the state allowed “irresponsible placement” of industrial wind turbines in the Glenmore area, the Brown County Human Services Committee has approved a measure to ask the state to pay emergency aid to families living near the Shirley Wind Farm.

The request, which seeks an unspecified amount until the “hardships are studied and resolved,” could come before the full County Board next month.

It is the latest attempt by county supervisors and other officials to manage an issue in which some residents began experiencing conditions such as anxiety, depression, weight loss and increased cancer risks since the wind farm was erected in 2010.

“There is a 70-year-old woman who lost 20 pounds from not being able to eat,” said Barbara Vanden Boogart, a member of the Brown County Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy, an advocacy group. “There are two adults who sleep an average of one and a half hours a night.”

Shirley’s operators insist their facility has been built and operated safely.

Wind farms have been a topic of debate in Wisconsin in the past several years. Advocates say wind pollutes less than coal and is less expensive and less potentially dangerous than nuclear energy.

Officials say the facilities’ record isn’t good enough. The County Board resolution says the state was irresponsible in allowing the Shirley Wind Farm to be built without consulting an expert on the medical consequences of living near wind turbines.

Supervisors said they had no indication Wednesday of how the state would respond to their request. They said the answer would be up to officials in Madison to resolve this spring.

Supervisor Patrick Evans said the government must do more to protect citizens until more is known about potential dangers, saying at least two local families living near wind farms have abandoned their homes and others lost thousands of dollars because livestock died mysteriously.

“This problem is very real,” he said. Being upstairs in a house near the Shirley facility, he said, “felt after 10 or 12 minutes like you were getting carbon-monoxide poisoning.”

Lawmakers also are calling on the state to adopt turbine-siting guidelines approved by citizens groups.

State Sen. Frank Lasee, R-Ledgeview, last week introduced a bill to allow cities, villages, towns and counties to establish the minimum distance between a wind turbine and a home — even if those rules are more restrictive than any the state enacts.

Statewide wind-siting rules, more than a year in the making, were suspended last March. Lawmakers sent those rules, which dealt with farms of less than 100 megawatts, back to the state Public Service Commission, where they have stayed as officials worked to reach a compromise.

Lack of regulatory agreement, particularly on the issue of how far a turbine must be from a property line, has tempered enthusiasm about wind farms. A corporation in 2011 scrapped plans for a 100-turbine development in the Morrison-Glenmore area.

On the net

» Wisconsin Citizens Safe Wind-Siting Guidelines: http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/wisconsin-citizens-safe-wind-siting-guidelines

NOTE FROM THE BPWI RESEARCH NERD: The families having trouble living with the Brown County turbines are not alone: 

CLICK HERE to see photos and read the daily wind turbine noise log kept by a resident living in the Invenergy wind project near the Town of Byron in Fond du Lac County 

SECOND FEATURE

From Ontario

LOCAL HEALTH EXPERT: LOTS OF ROOM IN CANADA FOR WIND TURBINES

by David Meyer,

Via The Wellington Advertiser, www.wellingtonadvertiser.com

January 27, 2012 

Dr. Jeff Aramini is a public health epidemiologist and former senior scientist with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. He and his family live 2.5km from a proposed wind farm near Belwood.

He has just taken part in a study of the alleged effects of wind turbines on health in two communities in Maine, in the United States, and the results indicate the closer wind turbines are to people’s home, the higher their chance of sleep disruption and their chances of suffering depression.

C. WELLINGTON TWP. – Opponents of industrial wind turbines have been telling the provincial government for several years it needs to do some health studies before approving such machines close to homes.

Some of those opponents did not wait for the province. Dr. Jeff Aramini is a public health epidemiologist and former senior scientist with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. He and his family live 2.5km from a proposed wind farm near Belwood.

He has just taken part in a study of the alleged effects of wind turbines on health in two communities in Maine, in the United States, and the results indicate the closer wind turbines are to people’s home, the higher their chance of sleep disruption and their chances of suffering depression.

Aramini said in an interview on Monday people opposed to wind farms in the Belwood area asked him to check health effects because of his expertise in that field.

His partners were Dr. Michael Nissenbaum of the Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent, and Dr. Chris Hanning, of University Hospitals of Leicester, in the United Kingdom.

Aramini said in an interview the two communities studied are “not unlike anything here.”

He said it was “a little surprising the health effect that came across the strongest was depression.”

The study was peer reviewed, which means experts from around the world had an opportunity to comment on it. The study was published last year in the 10th International Congress on Noise as a public health problem in Great Britain.

The peer review is important for those opposing wind turbines.

Janet Vallery, a spokesman for Oppose Belwood Windfarm, highlighted a difference between the study Aramini was involved in and the studies being cited by the provincial government.

“The Ontario provincial government used literature reviews as a basis for determining setbacks,” she said. “This new research deems setbacks less than 1.5km must be regarded as unsafe.”

Aramini said the questionnaire tool used for the research “has been used millions of times around the world.”

The researchers found, “It wasn’t simply close and far … It was, the closer you get, the [more] progressively your risk rises.”

He noted, too, that only adults were considered in the study, and wondered what effects sleep disruption would have on children.

“Losing sleep is a big deal. In kids, it affects their learning,” said Aramini.

There were about 80 adults involved in the Maine study, with about half living 2 to 3km away from a turbine, and others lived farther away than 3km.

The Ontario setbacks from human habitation is 550 metres and Aramini said that increases chances of people suffering from clinical depression by 369%.

“It’s doubling to tripling the chance of you being at risk if living that close,” he said, adding if just one person is affected badly, it is too many. “We’re talking about real people.”

Aramini said people ask him regularly about how close they can live to turbines, and if he would buy a home close to one.

“If you’re within 2km, I’d think twice,” he said about purchasing a home, adding he suggests people talk to their physician prior to turbines going in if they live near where the machines are proposed.

Aramini said it is vexing the provincial government is forcing people to endure turbines when there is plenty of land available that is not anywhere near human habitation.

“The thing that disappoints me is Canada is a big place. Surely we can put them in a place away … For God’s sake, put them out in the middle of nowhere, away from people.”

Unfortunately, he said of the issue, “Clearly there’s a lot of politics and money involved.”

Despite the study’s claims to the contrary, the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) maintains there is no “conclusive” correlation between turbines and health issues.

ONLY MITIGATION OPTION IS SEPARATION

Neil Andersen, Blacksmith Shop Rd., Falmouth. 

January 20, 2012

Picture a 747 jumbo jet spinning around, 200’ in the air. Add in high, gusty winds. The 747 wants to spin as fast as a pinwheel. Instead, by tilting and twisting the wings, the 747 is forced to spin slower. Similarly, this is how wind turbines capture the energy in the wind.

The forces involved in this transfer of energy (besides the electrical energy), are very dynamic. High, gusty winds verses 23 ton turbine blades!

Experiencing these tremendous forces is frightening. And, yes, it can get jet engine loud.

What makes a person who has been in the alternative energy business for over thirty years, shut down his home building business (Energy Star certified), spend most of his time, as well as his savings, while racking up mileage traveling to different communities, feel compelled to “bad mouth” certain alternative energy projects?

The answer is an improperly sited wind turbine.

I live in Falmouth where there are 3 wind turbines. All are 1.65MW, 400’ tall with 135’ blades that weigh 7-1/2 tons. One of the turbines is 1320’ from my house.

The problem is not wind power. The problem has to do with size and distance. Any structure of this size, especially with massive moving parts, does not belong 1320’ from anyone’s house. Nevertheless, it is there. All that I can do is tell my experiences, while at the same time hope to educate the public.

Picture a 747 jumbo jet spinning around, 200’ in the air. Add in high, gusty winds. The 747 wants to spin as fast as a pinwheel. Instead, by tilting and twisting the wings, the 747 is forced to spin slower. Similarly, this is how wind turbines capture the energy in the wind.

The forces involved in this transfer of energy (besides the electrical energy), are very dynamic. High, gusty winds verses 23 ton turbine blades!

Experiencing these tremendous forces is frightening. And, yes, it can get jet engine loud.

But the most distressing and harmful thing about the turbine is the constant and repetitive low frequency pressure pulses that are generated during the downswing motion of each blade (every 1-1/2 seconds). This action forces out a pressure wave, which in turn creates a wake in the air, much like that in the water behind a boat with a motor. It is when in this wake that the effects from the turbine are the worst.

Try this: Hold your arm out the car window as you travel down the road. Every 1-1/2 seconds, alternate your palm from vertical to horizontal. Feel, hear and sense what happens. Next close all the windows, except leave one in the back open 3”. See how long you can stand that repetitive pulsing sensation. Regarding the low frequency part, I’m sure all of us have experienced the very low base tones blasting from an approaching car, most times unaware of where the car is. All you hear is the sound. It is piercing.

It seems to be coming from everywhere.

Hopefully the similarities mentioned above will give the reader a slight indication of what a turbine produces.

Over and over and over. Pound….Pound…..Pound. It never stops. Windows, nor walls, earplugs nor noise machines can stop it. This pulse has a unique ability to travel very far, as it bounces off of everything. It has recently been proven that the intensity of the pulse is higher inside a home.

Pound…Pound….Pound. Soon you can’t sleep. Frequent headaches appear. Heart palpitations. And what is that strange pressure in my head and ears? Heart rate and blood pressure increase (The pulse actually mimics the heart beat-this is a terrible feeling!) You begin to have problems with balance, and irregularities with hearing.

Pound…Pound…Pound. It never goes away. Not only is it unhealthy, it is like torture.

All these symptoms and others were experienced by the members of my family, as well as numerous other families in the neighborhood. Some experienced these symptoms within days of the start of the turbines. Others more slowly. For me it took almost 2 months. But the results have been devastating-physically, mentally and financially.

After nearly 1 year of turbine abuse that resulted in a visit to the emergency room (insomnia, dehydration and chronic bronchitis), and in a desperate and passionate outburst before our Select Board, the turbine was ordered to be shut off when wind speeds reached 23 mph That was last March, 2011.

The turbine has been off now since early November, (due to a vote of support from town meeting members), while we wait on “mitigation options”. Except for the ringing in my ears and sensitivity to loud or sudden noises, all the symptoms have gone away.

One certain thing that we have learned is that the only possible and successful mitigation option is separation. It is very simple. These industrial size wind turbines do not belong anywhere near residential areas. There can be no compromise.

Please consider this first hand personal experience when planning and regulating alternative energy projects for your community. 400’ wind turbines in residential neighborhoods is not the way to do it, believe me, please, especially when there are better options.

Energy conservation leads a long list of non-invasive methods that must be pursued in this fight for self-sustainability, and against the problems of global warming.

I will be in Shelburne Falls this Saturday, January 28th at 7:00 p.m., (along with my neighbor Annie Hart) and Dr. Nina Pierpont (via skype) to talk about the realities of living under wind turbines, and to answer questions. This event is free. Please attend. For more information: www.shelburnewind.info.

HEALTH DIVISION VALIDATES SOME CONCERNS ABOUT WIND FARM NOISE

By Tom Banse,

Via Oregon Public Broadcasting, news.opb.org 

January 10, 2012

In a draft report, Oregon’s Public Health Division acknowledges that noise from wind turbine blades may cause health problems among nearby homeowners. But the agency does not intend to take action against the burgeoning wind power industry.

In a draft report, Oregon’s Public Health Division acknowledges that noise from wind turbine blades may cause health problems among nearby homeowners. But the agency does not intend to take action against the burgeoning wind power industry.

Complaints from sleep-deprived neighbors and uncertainty among government officials prompted the re-examination of wind energy. A team of investigators from the Oregon Public Health Division reviewed case studies and held field hearings near some major wind farms. Principal investigator Jae Douglas says while the evidence isn’t exactly “rock solid,” the team found reason to take complaints about health impacts from turbine noise seriously.

“There could be a problem. At certain levels, certain equipment could be producing levels (of noise) that are troubling and difficult for people,” says Douglas.

Douglas says the investigators also assessed whether “shadow flicker” from spinning blades is a problem. They conclude that’s unlikely to have an adverse impact. The Oregon wind energy assessment has been published in draft form for public comment through the end of March. Before the draft came out, a pro-wind industry group issued a statement portraying wind turbines as “benign” to human health.

Oregon Division of Public Health draft study:

http://public.health.oregon.gov/HealthyEnvironments/TrackingAssessment/HealthImpactAssessment/Pages/windenergy.aspx

COUNTY WIND POWER DEBATE ENTERING FIFTH YEAR

Editorial staff

Via Hudson Star-Observer, www.hudsonstarobserver.com

January 4, 2012 

A legal, and neighbor-against-neighbor, battle in northeastern St. Croix County continues as the pros and cons of wind-generated power are debated. The issue has already been brewing for four years and it may not be settled anytime soon as we enter the fifth year of the controversy.

Talk to anyone and they will, in general terms, talk about wind power as a good, efficient and cheap energy source for the times — that’s the easy part.

But then, try finding a location to construct wind generators and suddenly you’ve got yourself a first-class controversy, complete with arguments among neighbors, recalls and lawsuits.

Such is the case in St. Croix County in the town of Forest.

As the debate continues, we are starting to see new terms in the discussions of wind energy. Terms such as “shadow flicker” and “turbine noise levels” are things that no one thought much about in the past.

The latest developments in the Forest project find that the company attempting to build the turbines, Highland Wind Farm LCC, increased the size of the project from 97 to 102.5 megawatts. The Highland Wind Farm project has been a controversy in the town of Forest since the town board approved a wind development agreement with the wind farm developer, Emerging Energies of Wisconsin, in 2008.

In 2010 the town board was recalled and replaced by turbine opponents. They had made things difficult for the proposal with various town regulations and citizen lawsuits. The 102.5 megawatt proposal is significant because it makes the plan subject to state approval instead of town approval. The cutoff is 100 megawatts.

A bit of history finds that the original project in Forest called for 39 wind towers. Each tower stands about 500 feet tall. Many landowners in the town had signed leases with the wind firm, but were prohibited from discussing the project. When the rest of the town’s residents got “wind” of the deals, the uprising began. Battles erupted over setbacks, noise, quality of life, health, property value, safety, “shadow flicker” and more.

With the latest proposal now involving the state, the clock began ticking last week on state regulators to review the application to construct the larger 102.5 mega-watt wind energy farm in the towns of Forest and Cylon. By statute, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission has 30 days to determine if the application submitted by Highland Wind Farm LCC is complete, and if so, then six months to approve or deny it. If necessary, a circuit court can grant the PSC a six-month extension. The town’s role in the decision is now uncertain.

The bottom line is, when wind towers begin popping up in either populated areas, or rural countryside, there is likely to be plenty of opposition. A group of wind towers doesn’t do much for the scenic value of any topography.

Despite all the virtues of wind power, developing a power source to a degree where it would have a significant impact could be difficult when facing “not in my backyard” neighborhoods.

NOTE FROM THE BPWI RESEARCH NERD: The people in the video below live in the last wind project to be developed by this wind company. That project has just 8 turbines but they've made life hell for several families, at least two of whom have abandoned their homes because of noise and vibration from the wind turbines.

Click on the image below to meet some of them and hear their story

Video courtesy of The Forest Voice-- visit their website by clicking HERE

"At least eight families living in the Shirley Wind Project in the Town of Glenmore just south of Green Bay, are reporting health problems and quality of life issues since the Shirley Wind project went online in December of 2010. Six families have come forward, five of them testify on the video, and at this time two of them have vacated their homes. STAND UP to protect people, livestock, pets, and wildlife against negligent and irresponsible placement of industrial wind turbines."

FEDS PROPOSE ALLOWING WIND-FARM DEVELOPER TO KILL GOLDEN EAGLES

By James Eng,

Via msnbc.msn.com

January 4, 2012 

“As a former USFS employee, I am appalled that the Forest Service would approve the wholesale damage to critical black bear habitat in order to squeeze out a few kilowatt hours of electricity,” says Wright, in a press statement. “This is a serious error in judgment by the Obama administration for little or no effective climate change result.”

The legislation, enacted in 1940, prohibits anyone from killing or disturbing any bald or golden eagles without a permit from the Interior Department.

Regulations adopted in 2009 enabled the agency to authorize, for the first time, the “take” of eagles for activities that are otherwise lawful but that result in either disturbance or death. In this case “taking” would be the killing of eagles hit by the wind turbines’ huge blades.

The federal government is proposing to grant a first-of-its-kind permit that would allow the developer of a central Oregon wind-power project to legally kill golden eagles, a regulatory move being closely watched by conservationists.

The Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday released a draft environmental assessment that would allow West Butte Wind Power LLC to kill as many as three protected golden eagles over five years if the company fulfills its conservation commitments.

It’s the first eagle “take permit” application to be received and acted on by U.S. Fish and Wildlife under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. (“Take” means to kill, harass or disturb the birds, their nests or their eggs.) [Ed. Read the application here]

The legislation, enacted in 1940, prohibits anyone from killing or disturbing any bald or golden eagles without a permit from the Interior Department.

Regulations adopted in 2009 enabled the agency to authorize, for the first time, the “take” of eagles for activities that are otherwise lawful but that result in either disturbance or death. In this case “taking” would be the killing of eagles hit by the wind turbines’ huge blades.

Public comments on the draft environmental assessment of the Wind Butte project will be accepted until Feb. 2.

The permit, if ultimately issued, stipulates that there must be no net loss to breeding populations of golden eagles from the wind farm project. That means for every protected bird permitted killed, developers must contribute to conservation efforts for breeding them.

“Our goal is to maintain stable or increasing populations of eagles protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act,” said Chris McKay, assistant regional director for Migratory Birds and State Programs in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region.

“Regulations under the Act allow us to issue permits for activities that are likely to take eagles provided the activity is otherwise lawful and the taking is not the purpose of that activity, the take is unavoidable even though advanced conservation practices are being implemented, and the take is compatible with eagle preservation,” McKay said in a press release.

California-based West Butte Wind Power LLC is proposing to build a 104-megawatt wind energy generation facility on ranchland in Oregon’s Deschutes and Crook counties, consisting of up to 52 wind turbines. Electricity generated by the project could power as many as 50,000 homes.

Conservation groups expressed cautious optimism at the government’s proposal to award the eagle take permit.

“This is a type of project where it’s appropriate for them to issue this kind of permit,” said Liz Nysson, energy policy coordinator with the Oregon Natural Desert Association She noted that only a small number of golden eagles are believed to be in and around the area where the wind turbines will be built.

“I say ‘cautious optimism’ because we fear that the agency is going to go forward and start issuing these permits … for a multitude of golden eagles every year, and that would be a bad use of the policy,” Nysson said.

It’s not mandatory for wind-power projects to apply for the eagle “take” permits.

Kelly Fuller, wind campaign coordinator for the American Bird Conservancy, praised West Butte for being the first company to apply for one. She described the latest development as “precedent-setting,” according to the Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition, a bipartisan group of the nation’s governors dedicated to expanding the development of wind energy.

Fuller said the eagle permit process gives conservationists more opportunity to participate in the development process.

She said the conservancy group will ask Fish and Wildlife to extend its public comment period an additional 30 days beyond the Feb. 2 deadline, according to the Wind Energy Coalition.

MORE ON THIS SUBJECT:

LOWELL WIND OPPONENTS DECRY USDA FOREST SERVICE APPROVAL OF DEERFIELD WIND PROJECT

by Ken Picard,

Via Seven Days, 7d.blogs.com 

January 3, 2012 

Just three days into 2012, Vermont’s critics of industrial wind power already have a new ridgeline in the sand to fight about: The USDA Forest Service just granted final approval to Iberdrola, Inc. to build more than a dozen, 393-foot wind turbines on two ridgelines in the Green Mountain National Forest in southern Vermont.

The project, known as Deerfield Wind, located near the towns of Readsboro and Searsburg, gained federal approval for 15 of the 17 turbines that were OK’ed two years ago by the Vermont Public Service Board. The PSB approval came despite objections from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and others that the project would damage critical bear habitat. The new ridgeline development will be located not far from the existing Searsburg Wind Power Facility, Vermont’s first industrial wind project, which went online in July 1997.

According to Iberdrola, Deerfield Wind is expected to generate enough power to light 14,000 Vermont homes, or roughly three-quarters of the households in Windham County. In September 2010, Central Vermont Public Service announced a long-term, fixed-rate power purchase agreement with Iberdrola Renewables to buy 20 of the 30 megawatts generated by the Deerfield project for its Vermont customers. According to the Iberdrola website, it’s now looking to secure other Vermont-based purchasers of the Deerfield electricity so all the power is consumed locally.

If Vermont’s industrial wind opponents thought they were in a David-and-Goliath fight with Green Mountain Power — now in the process of merging with CVPS — their latest nemesis is exponentially larger. Portland, Ore.-based Iberdrola is the second largest wind developer in the United States, with more than 40 utility-grade energy projects nationwide, including wind, solar, biomass and gas-fired generators, as this map reveals. Iberdrola Renewables is the U.S. division of its Spanish parent, Iberdrola, S.A. Iberdrola S.A.’s website claims it has the largest renewable asset base of any company in the world, which includes 11,400 MG of renewable energy globally. ¡Muy enorme!

A familiar cast of local enviros have sounded alarm bells about this latest regulatory action. To wit: Vermonters for a Clean Environment (VCE) put out a press release this afternoon condemning the decision — even before the USDA Forest Service had a chance to announce it.

Steve Wright of Craftsbury is the former Forest Service employee and Vermont Fish and Wildlife commissioner who’s led the fight against th Kingdom Community Wind Project in the Lowell mountains.

“As a former USFS employee, I am appalled that the Forest Service would approve the wholesale damage to critical black bear habitat in order to squeeze out a few kilowatt hours of electricity,” says Wright, in a press statement. “This is a serious error in judgment by the Obama administration for little or no effective climate change result.”

As Wright points out, the ridgeline turbines would be located less than two miles from the George D. Aiken Wilderness, a fact that he and other opponents say was initially downplayed by both wind developers and the Forest Service. They claim that maps used at the public meeting for the project as recently as several months ago did not identify the nearby wilderness area.

“The decision is based on a process plagued with conflict of interest,” alleges VCE executive director Annette Smith. “Experts were working for Iberdrola, the developer on a wind project in New Hampshire, at the same time they prepared the supposedly independent analysis for the Forest Service.”

Smith claims the final EIS also violates the management plan for the George D. Aiken Wilderness, noting that the turbines would be visible from more than half the wilderness, “completely eviscerating” its whole purpose.

Justin Lindholm, a Mendon resident who serves on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board and is a frequent visitor to the Aiken Wilderness, says that politicians “want to turn the Aiken Wilderness into nothing more than a tree park.”

Added Smith, “This is a bad project based on bad information leading to a bad decision.”

Spokespeople for Iberdrola Renewables and the USDA Forest Service did not return calls as of press time.

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• U.S. Mail: Please address written comments to Michael Green, Acting Chief, Division of Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 NE 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97232.Show citation box
• Fax: Michael Green, Acting Chief, Division of Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs, (503) 231-2019, Attn.: DEA for the West Butte Wind Project.Show citation box

For more information contact Michael Green, Acting Chief, Division of Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (503) 231-2019 (phone); pacific_birds@fws.gov (email, include “DEA for the West Butte Wind Project” in the subject line of the message). If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.

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From Vermont

PRECEDENT-SETTING WIND PROJECT WILL LIKELY BE APPEALED

by Susan Keese,

via Vermont Public Radio, www.vpr.net

January 4, 2012

(Host) A 15-turbine wind project just approved by the Green Mountain National Forest could set a precedent as the nation’s first commercial wind farm on national forest land.

But opponents say the Deerfield Wind project will be appealed.

VPR’s Susan Keese has more.

(Keese) Deerfield Wind is a subsidiary of Iberdrola Renewables, a Spanish company that’s one of the largest wind developers in this country.

The development covers 80 acres of National Forest in Readsboro and Searsburg. It was one of 14 renewable power projects fast-tracked this summer by the Obama administration.

The proposal has been under scrutiny for years. The state Public Service Board approved it, with conditions, in 2009.

Green Mountain National Forest spokesman Ethan Ready says the Forest Service’s decision was scheduled for the end of December, even without the president’s help.

(Ready) “With projects of this magnitude we have to go through the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires us to do in-depth policy analysis and… a lot of scientific work. So we’re really proud of the work we’ve done… and we think that it’s been an extensive and thorough process which has involved the public.”

(Keese) Ready says the forest received more than a thousand comments. They’re addressed in the 400 page environmental impact statement and 70-page decision.

At 410 feet tall, the new turbines would be twice the height of towers at an existing adjacent wind farm, and will require aircraft safety lighting.

That’s a major concern for the group Vermonters for a Clean Environment. Annette Smith directs the group. She says the lights will be visible from the 5,000 acre George D. Aiken Wilderness, a few miles away.

(Smith) “More than half the area inside the wilderness you will be able to see the wind turbines from, with their blinking lights… and this is totally contrary to everything that the wilderness plan calls for.”

(Keese) The project has also drawn concern from biologists and wildlife advocates, who worry about the removal of beech groves used by black bears as a food source.

The permits require the developer to set aside 144 acres of comparable bear habitat and to continue extensive bear, bat and bird impact surveys once the turbines are running.

The Forest Service says the public will have 45 days to appeal the decision, after legal notices are published.

Annette Smith says her group will appeal, and she expects others to do the same.

For VPR News, I’m Susan Keese in Manchester.

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From West Virginia

TURBINE NOISE MARS QUALITY OF LIFE

Letter from Gary Braithwaite

Via Mineral Daily Dews-Tribune, www.newstribune.info

January 4, 2012

I can verify there is noise from the windmills, and it has ruined my way of life in my home, out in the yard and even in the garage with the radio playing. I name all three areas because the noise of the windmills can be heard anywhere on my property.

I have lived in the Cross area of Mineral County my entire life and have done so because of the peace and quiet of the small community. However, over the past months, things have changed, and the reason is the windmills on the mountain across from my home.

The windmills cause an extremely loud disturbance to the point that lying down at night to have a good night’s sleep is impossible. I recently attended a county commission meeting, to see what the commissioners could do to help the Cross residents with the noise from the windmills. The three commissioners showed no interest in helping with this problem. One in particular spoke to a relative and said, “You wanted the windmills, now live with them.”

I personally did not want the windmills in the county. Prior to the approval of the windmill project and the construction, I do not remember hearing anything or reading newspaper reports concerning how much noise would be produced by the windmills. I can verify there is noise from the windmills, and it has ruined my way of life in my home, out in the yard and even in the garage with the radio playing. I name all three areas because the noise of the windmills can be heard anywhere on my property. For those living near railroad tracks, I agree there is a time to become adjusted to the noise of passing trains. The sound from the windmills is like having a train come through the middle of my house for seven or eight hours straight.

On another comparison subject, the smell emitted by what was called the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company was one to be tolerated. Those living in Luke, Westernport and Piedmont did tolerate the smell because the paper factory that created the unpleasant odor was the company that sent paychecks to many homes in the Tri Towns. That odor put the food on their plates and a roof over their heads.

Edison Mission, the owners of the Pinnacle Wind Farm, has nothing to do with whether my family eats or has suitable housing, so there is no reason for me to tolerate the noise from the windmills.

Dave Friend and Jim Cookman, top people with US WindForce, the developers of the wind farm, visited in this area to gain support for the windmills. They have been contacted about the noise factor and their response is that it is now a problem for Edison Mission. If that is the case, why do they continue to be the spokespeople for windmills at advisory meetings?

Then on the subject of windmills creating a green environment for the area, the comment I have about that is the only thing green the developers and owners are interested in the kind they fold and put in their pockets.

I was told by Edison Mission that they knew the Mitsubishi wind turbines were a lot louder than the ones that are normally used. In addition, surely there were noise studies conducted prior to the plans to build the windmills on Pinnacle, but the company installed them anyway. Everyone talks of how quiet other wind farms are, but that is only if a person stands directly beneath them, where there is little noise. Further away from the windmills, there is noise as we can hear in Cross.

I feel like the county commissioners should not have allowed US WindForce to place these noisy wind turbines so near to private homes. They and the Public Service Commission have ruined the lives of those residing near the Pinnacle Wind Farm. I was told the windmills would shut down during the night until a way was found to correct the noise. This has not happened.

How does the wind farm think they are protecting the environment by clear-cutting over 2 miles of timber to erect 23 noisy windmills? I understand additional wind farms could be built in Mineral County Those that may live near them are in for a real treat, that is if they want to get a good night’s sleep. Better yet, get all the sleep you can now, because you will not be able to if any future windmills are built close to your house. With a situation like this, causing disruption and unsettling problems with quality of life, something must be done.

One more thing, I have lived with the deposit of sludge from NewPage in the ground near my home, and this has been ongoing for 30 years. The sludge is at least 100 feet deep over many acres, with the possibility of ruining the water supply.

Gary Braithwaite
Cross