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May 21, 2007
 White noise is a nightmare to live with.   I used to live in Belfast on Rt. 52.  When they built the YMCA I was very excited and supportive.  Then their furnace turned on.   It sounded like a Mac truck was idling in my living room day and night during cold weather.  The interesting thing is that if I went down to the end of my driveway, which was closer to the YMCA, I could hardly hear it.   Sound has an interesting way of traveling and bouncing off things, so BEWARE.   Standing next to a turbine it may not be noisy, but a quarter mile away (which is just about how far my house would be from them) it may be overwhelming.  I'd like to keep things quiet out here in Freedom.
 
Lisa W.

from Michael and Esther Poce, Steuben, Maine
mspoce@peoplepc.com
(submitted with photo of 40' wind turbine)
OK I have heard the talk so many times from those that allege they know for a fact that wind power is an eye sore and will depreciate property value and create noise issues.
To this office of MISINFORMATION I say phooey.
I have traveled through Europe and lived in Northern Germany for a short time (Oldenburg to be exact) near these machines and they are not a problem but a solution.
My wife and I live in Steuben and would open our arms to the company as well as our 24 acres to say goodbye to Bangor Hydro and hello to alternative energy.
What I have found to be the biggest issue with wind power is the ones that feel it is going to take from the landscape and take from their property value and as usual those are the ones that have money and do not mind paying high energy costs and tend to be seasonal residents. As for landscape issues, what better picture can you take then as you travel the coastal route and jump out of your car for that once in a life time view shot only to see a dozen or so power,phone,and cable lines in that picture. To me that is not beauty.
I have attached a few pictures from our last trip showing these machines and to me and my wife they are true poetry and beauty and a lot easier to look at then these power lines that run along route one and all over the state.
In the first picture you can see the top of the machine and on this farm they had 14 of these for which the land owner was paid by the government for the use of the land and was provide service from the machines. In the second picture you can not even see the tips of the blades of 3 of the machines.
As for noise my wife and I stayed at this rest stop for about an hour and did not hear a single sound from them.
The German Company that makes these machines has very rigid standards to go by so if the company in question that wants to put these machines in place in your town is buying the machines from them then have no fear you wont even hear them.
In all honesty this is an issue I have raised more then once with our Governor and our Representatives to make Maine the only state in the country that has gone to total wind power and we can only imagine his response to that, about the same as he response to not using Washington County as a dump site for out of state as well as in state waste if we can make a buck on it then lets do it but if it is going to hurt the campaign pocket then put it in the circular file.
In closing all I can say is WAKE UP PEOPLE you think the last few winters have been mild well at the rate we are going it is only going to get worse and the climate changes are going to effect everything from farm crops to those precious rose and flower beds you have to the fishing industry and as for wildlife as long as the weather keeps on the same track we will have problems with those wild animals we do not want in our backyard like coyotes and wolves because the cold snowy winters does create a food source for these animals by taking down the weaker animals they feed on.

The following comments were printed in the Waterville Sentinel

carrie of freedom, me
Apr 6, 2006 3:17 AM
I think it is sad to read the comments on this article. I live on Beaver Ridge; I have spoken with CES about my concerns in private as well as at this meeting that you are all debating over.
People want so badly to criticise and to jump to the conclusion that any person asking for responsable planning is either anti-wind power or trying to control the town.Well, I don't fall under either category. I DO want to know that this project will not affect my quality of life or my home value; but CES says that they do not need to conduct the studies which are suggested by the American Wind Eneregy Association (the same group which they told me to look to for answers).
This company comes in and claims "power for 2000 homes" yet they offer no data to back this claim; still, people drool over the possibility. They follow up this claim with a promise that EACH turbine will decrease our tax burden by over $42,000, despite the fact that this is 6 times the highest level of town profit in this country. We ask for proof, they say this is what they "think" we COULD make.
As to the person referring to farm land preservation.. Perhaps you were unaware that this farmer has retired?? He sold off all of his dairy cows last fall and has his farm up for sale. He MAY continue to hay that property but that is still quite questionable.
Not one person has demanded that this project be stopped! We have asked for the same research to be done here in Freedom that has been done for every other wind farm in the US in the last 3 years!
I also wonder, why were the people living in Montville attending our meeting? Would you by chance be related to the Prices??

Marty P. of Montville, Me
Apr 5, 2006 2:38 PM
I too attended this wind turbine informational session on Monday in the town of Freedom & thought there were several significant comments made that night which didn't make this article. The first being a comment made by a professional in conserving & protecting Maine's farmland. She observed that most of us fail to recognize that many of our farmer neighbors maintain the open spaces we are used to enjoying visually & often recreationally at enormous financial sacrifice & burden to themselves. I know some simply cannot continue and are being forced to sell valuable land to cover debt loads. Wind turbines, in this case, would afford a farmer an opportunity to hay his land right up to the base of the proposed turbines. Freedom's code enforcement officer made the other comment when, at the end of the meeting, he thanked Competitive Energy Systems for their consistent honest, open and gracious dealings with the town.

I heard many very thoughtful, well-researched questions that will assist Freedom in gathering information necessary to understand wind power. I also heard many emotional questions and comments which I understand will be part of this process. There are environmental & political consequences to power generation no matter which way we turn. However, the fact remains that the collective we needs to address the question of how to meet our nation's ever increasing demand for electrical power sooner rather than later! In my opinion, we no longer have the luxury of flipping electrical switches without mindfully thinking of the sources of that generated power. If the power demand for 2000 homes can be met by aerodynamically graceful (ugly would be the ever present but necessary power lines we're simply used to seeing) turbines sitting on a ridge with blades slowly turning, what an important step away from fossil fuel dependence!

Kim of Montville, Me
Apr 5, 2006 7:29 AM
I attended the meeting Monday night in Freedom regarding the wind turbine project and the article written by Joel Elliott in the Sentinel provided a very biased portrayal. He quoted Mr. Bennett, who is clearly in opposition to the project, quite extensively. There were no quotes from Competitive Energy Services, the company planning the project, outside of their responses to Mr. Bennett. Nor did the reporter include insight offered by Ron Price, on whose land the turbines would sit. Perhaps sitting next to a fellow staff writer for the Kennebec Journal, who voiced concerns about the project, affected Mr. Elliot's ability to write in an ethical manner. Shame on you Joel Elliott. I expect more from the Morning Sentinel.

Joan Kalso of Montague, MI
Apr 4, 2006 11:56 PM
Noise- Quoted in your paper-- If they were noisy, you wouldn't be able to put them anywhere," Competitive Energy Services partner Rich Silkman said. "People will tell you, it doesn't make any noise."
This is interesting. Mr. Silkman does not say the turbines are quiet. He will not guarantee the noise will not bother anyone. He simply said, PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU. Would his permit require the removal of the wind power plants if the neighbors complain of noise? I doubt that he would agree to such a requirement.

In Scotland, in Australia, in the United States, residents have been assured that the new style wind turbines do not produce problem noise. They learned too late, after the machines were up and running, that the noise charts, graphs and models produced by consultants were mistaken. Now they have to live with the noise. Ask the Mackinaw City Michigan family that hears the noise indoors from two wind plants a quarter mile away from their home.

Often, the machines sound quieter when you are beneath them. This is the sweet spot where the wind developers will have you stand when they take you on a tour. That is no indication of how they will sound to a neighbor. But the noise can travel for great distances, depending on topography and weather, especially downwind. This is very difficult to predict because each location is different. If the machines are on a hilltop, and you are in a lower area sheltered from the wind, and downwind, there probably will be no wind noise to mask the turbines noise.

Read: Frits G.P. van den Berg’s “WIND TURBINES AT NIGHT: ACOUSTICAL PRACTICE AN DSOUND RESEARCH” available at:
http://www.viewsofscotland.org/library/docs/Wind_turbines_at_night_Van_Den_Berg_Mar03.pdf

and, “Do wind turbines produce significant low frequency sound levels?” available at:
http://www.viewsofscotland.org/library/docs/LF_turbine_sound_Van_Den_Berg_Sep04.pdf?vos=daf90631098c433b7b4182cc79189267

Wind Turbine Noise is a problem that is recognized world wide. The first international Conference on Wind Turbine Noise was held in Berlin October 17 and 18, 2005.

For additional information about wind turbines go here: http://www.windwatch.org/

Dick Bernard of South Portland, ME
Apr 4, 2006 11:18 AM
What else is new? Innovations down the centuries have always met opposition from the fearful and the timid.

But this time we are under the pressure of gigantic change. Read Lester Brown's PLAN B 2.0 and get a feel for the danger we are in. Plan A is to continue what we are doing: wasting our environment. Plan B is the corrective, including alternative energy sources like wind turbines.

True Mainers are gutsy people, They recognize risks and take action. If we must appeal to the timid, lowering taxes and pumping up the local economy with environmental jobs may stiffen their resolve. Whatever it takes!!

Mike T. of portland, ME
Apr 4, 2006 9:57 AM
It's getting quite tiresome hearing all the negative feedback on proposed wind turbine projects in Maine. The people opposed to this type of CLEAN,SAFE,RENEWABLE energy need to come out of their caves and take a look at what is going on. Our environment, our economy and the lives and families of our young troops are suffering because of our reliance on the allmighty barrel of oil. We need to be more forward thinking in terms addressing our future energy needs. Things are going downhill in a hurry, as witnessed by the strange weather patterns of late and the melting of the polar ice caps. It no longer speculative to say that we are changing the environment by burning fossil fuels, it is a scientific fact. A windmill is aesthetically no different than the miles powerlines that run through the beautiful woods of this state. As far as the turbines being a danger or hazard to surrounding areas, the technology of these machines virtually eliminates any of the supposed hazards mentioned in the article. These are not your grandfather's backyard windmills, they are state of the art computer controlled units. The time to act is now, while we still can make a difference. We, as nature and environment loving Mainers, cannot afford to be behind the power curve (and the rest of this country) on this issue.

marge of freedom, me
Apr 4, 2006 9:51 AM
Freedom needs something to produce more tax base in the town. The wind turbines would be a great tax incentive and should be built to help with the taxes in town. It is getting so people on fixed income cannot afford the taxes especially with the new school being built. Wake up and let them build the turbines. Your excuses are petty and not valid.Another case of a certain few trying to control the town affairs.


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