Letter to the editor: Falmouth turbine experience a warning to Prospect

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I write this editorial to get across a simple but seemingly missed point regarding commercial wind turbines near homes. A point intentionally brushed aside by the energy company who will profit and through all the distractions printed per the proposal for a commercial wind turbine power plant in a residential neighborhood here in Prospect.

With all due respect to the extensive studies done by organizations funded by the energy companies, commercial wind turbines do have a huge negative impact on people who are unfortunate enough to live close by one, or two or maybe 18 of these giants.

Without getting into all the negative effects which are tritely being brushed aside by BNE, I point out the town of Falmouth Ma.  The neighborhood in Falmouth is a real life testimonial of the results of a rushed decision to install huge, commercial, wind turbines into a neighborhood. Falmouth is where the “rubber meets the road”.  This is the end result of the installation of wind turbines in neighborhoods, and it’s not a good result. Now, after the results are in, there is a moratorium on any future proposals in their area.

But it’s too late for our friends in this particular neighborhood and their situation was no different than ours was. Until we spoke out and questioned the proposal which was in the expedited petition process.

So my answer to anyone who is still not sure if the proposed wind turbines are a good or bad thing for people who are forced to live near them, find out about what the people of Falmouth are saying now that they live near these giants.

I met them.  I went to their neighborhood. I talked to them, looked into their faces and without any doubt, the installation of wind turbines has ruined their lives. And they cannot leave. They are stuck with their homes, inside their homes now.

And it will do exactly the same thing here. Do not believe that the reason the people of Falmouth are not happy is because they had a preconceived notion that that the wind turbines would be pleasant. Do not be fooled when told that the new and improved turbines we are getting are better and quieter than Falmouth’s.  The truth is simple. The turbines in Falmouth have not even been up a year. They are 80 feet smaller in height. How can BNE expect anyone to believe their disrespectful dismissal of a neighborhoods unfortunate plight and then blame it on the resident’s preconceived notions? Some of these people were for the turbines because they believed the twisted facts fed to them.  How does BNE expect us to believe that their proposed turbine for our neighborhood, a much larger turbine, will be less loud?

Please, I urge you – Get the facts for yourself.

Simply go to saveprospect.com and look at the overwhelming information and reports from real people for whom it’s too late, as they struggle to live near the turbines.  Or if you do not have access to the internet call us, come to our groups neighborhood meetings we have at Tim’s home.

Remember the people of Falmouth are not a study, a lab report, a market focus group, or any other systematically distorted group of information, prepared and created by those who look to make profits from the subsidized wind turbines.  No these are just regular working or retired people, in Cape Cod, who will be happy to tell you about their fractured lives since the turbines came into their lives.

It’s too late for them, but not for us.

Say no to the wind turbines. Get the facts for yourself from people who are living with this mistake now and forever. Do not fall for anymore snake oil type marketing schemes. Go to saveprospect.com and get involved before it is too late for you and your neighbors of Prospect CT.

John Hurley

Prospect CT.

1 COMMENT

  1. What I would like to add to my freinds comment here are some other simple facts: It has to be subsidized. The power companys cannot count on its output at any given moment so its input is mearely “dumped on the grid”. This is the equivilent of you driving in stop and go traffic too a power company. The risk of polution is greater as ramping and switching between power sources is increased to “balance and maintain the grid” to load demand. This is a constant in the summer months in high heat indexes and humidity is high also. Brown outs etc are sometimes the results of demand vs avalabilty. On a hot damp 95 degree August day I don’t remember it being windy do you in CT? As I have written many times but the editor fails to publish my columns is that even the “Deep Water” project that was made so public several weeks ago published their numbers and 18.7 cents was the best number they are throwing around right now. So I am asking you the reader double the price per killowatt makes sence to you?Double almost to what you pay now? With the federal subsidies and the fast depreciation of tax revenue makes sence? A unit that you the taxpayer are paying for that a “New start up company” with a crew that has never ran a power company or wind turbines for that matter is going to profit from the write offs for the many times they can write it off for “lack of generation” in a given year? The revenue will be its highest for only the first year….thats right you will never see that tax revenue that high ever again because any good business man will “write off” the equipment easily in the years to come. People wake up this is a unit of a company not a housing complex that can acrue worth over time for resale! Every year this unit will go down in value so this so called tax revenue issue is a NON issue! And may I remind people in our town fighting John and my other freinds educate yourself before you label them! Natural gas is dropping every week but you people RUN to this idea of wind energy that doesn’t even have Ct on any federal map for a class 4 power generation sight!Ct is not a wind labeled state!But we have natural gas generation plants popping up all over but this plan some of you are jumping on beleiving its green makes me nuts.This thing slows down power company dumps tons of coal into a blast furnace to quick pick up as this thing winds down in minutes! But you think your being green? Pathetic…………I’m not just babiling I work with and watch over a 3 meggawatt Co-gen unit with another 2 meggwatt unit at our other building whats your experiance?Oh ya 1 meggwatt can power 750-1000 homes your wind turbine can’t be counted on to run one!Co-gen natural gas 24-7 can call ahead and shut down for maintenance. Wind turbine you can’t estimate or forcast its that simple!