Good wind or bad wind for Montville?
Montville — It is unfortunate the recent guest column regarding wind generation in Montville ["When it comes to wind, 'Montville leads the way,' by Mark Pantalone, 11/5 TRJ] was filled with sarcasm and emotion, but was short on facts. It did nothing to find solutions to bringing down taxes while preserving what Montville has.
First, it is flat-out wrong to call the proposed ordinance anti-windmill, as the ordinance only deals with wind farms. Wind farms are groupings of mega-machines with each machine capable of generating more than 1.5 megawatts. The 10-kilowatt windmill I have installed on Route 220 in Thorndike and the three machines that power my Montville house in winter would not be affected by this ordinance.
The giant wind farms covered by the proposed ordinance are tested for sound levels in West Texas, where the wind layering makes for perfect power generation, free of turbulence on the blades. The topography of Montville causes turbulence to affect the blades, creating a variety of sounds in different wind conditions.
Added to this problem is the “thump” created in certain wind conditions when the down-moving blade comes up against the ground effect. The combination of turbulence and ground effect can make these giant machines very noisy far away from the machines. Additionally, when these mega-machines are in a line, the sound pressure waves combine when the wind is moving along that axis.
If one wants an example of wind farm noise, they should visit the homes in a variety of wind conditions around the Beaver Ridge wind farm. Sound pressure waves travel out from the machine head and then down. The machines on Mars Hill and Beaver Ridge are actually louder as one moves away from the machines (to a point). And topography can create a funneling effect. Valleys and ridges can carry gearbox noises and blade thumping many miles from these giants.
The noise from these machines can be generated anytime, day and night, with nighttime sounds being the most noticeable, due to the normally low background noise level. The end result is that Montville residents living within a couple miles of these machines will have lowered land values.
Ask folks around the Beaver Ridge machines who had to move away because of noise day and night. And other communities have had their real estate values affected by these wind complexes. The building inspector for the Township of Lincoln in Kewaunee, Wis., compiled a list of home sales from 2002 to 2004. The list compared the property’s selling price as a function of the distance to an existing wind farm in the area. The conclusions were:
1. Sales within 1 mile of the wind farm prior to the installation were 104 percent of the assessed values and
2. Properties selling after the wind farm introduction in the same area were at 78 percent of the assessed value.
Anecdotal evidence from real estate agents near Victoria, Australia, Indicates a 20 percent to 30 percent decrease in property values for homes near wind farms.
Montville residents want lower taxes, although it is unclear how much taxes would be lowered with a wind farm, as our town evaluation would go through the roof. Although Freedom taxes went up after the wind complex came, it is thought taxes will eventually only go down a few dollars on average.
Once the town evaluation goes up, we have to pay the state more money. But Frye Mountain, Montville’s highest peak, is on state game preserve land, which will not accrue any effect to Montville taxpayers other than noise and fewer hunting opportunities in the game area.
Wind farms can be appropriately sited in locations like offshore Maine and west Texas, not a place like Montville with folks nearby. Offshore wind farms could help pay down the state’s growing debt.
I applaud the work the town committees have been doing to regulate prospective wind farms while allowing appropriately sized wind generators. Without an ordinance Montville taxpayers would be liable for any giant towers left after one of these firms goes bankrupt, and we would be suffering from noise levels like those around the Mars Hill complex.
If Montville residents are serious about using wind power to really lower taxes, we should consider financing an appropriately sized machine like the .6-megawatt machine installed at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. A community-owned wind machine of this size could be used to pay down our taxes substantially.
The USDA has made grants available for communities that want to own their own wind machines. These town-owned machines have lowered taxes in rural areas of Minnesota. This is the best way to take advantage of our own wind resources while really lowering our taxes. It is not a solution to quickly sell out our valuable wind resources to Wall Street investors, which will only keep many awake at night with the result of lower property values for Montville taxpayers.
By Vernon LeCount
Vernon LeCount is a resident of Montville, and states he is not on any town committees.
The Republican Journal
24 November 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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