We had heard about the wind turbines, but the town manager told us we wouldn’t even see them, much less hear them.
At the time, we had no idea that the town fathers had believed everything the wind energy company, UPC, had told them.
The biggest lie of all was that there would be no noise, or that you had to be within 500 feet to hear anything. I believe that is still the propaganda.
The massive white giants started turning in March 2007. Our lives greatly changed that day. The more they added windmills on line, the louder it got.
If we got up in the middle of the night, we couldn’t get back to sleep. We closed the windows, the doors, had the furnace running and the drumming never stopped. On a foggy or snowy day, it was always worse.
We both spent those winter nights roaming around the house because we couldn’t sleep. Then, the less we slept, the angrier we would become.
When I went out the front door, a sense of rage would hit me that I have never known before. Some 30 years of teaching, raising two boys and going through a divorce has never produced the kind of rage I feel when those windmills are pounding.
Insomnia has become a way of life for me. We are still on medications for these problems.
We are, by nature, outdoor people. Most of our days were spent outdoors with gardening, the dog or just drinking tea on the porch.
Now we head inside and turn up the TV. We have had no choices. We have had this lifestyle forced on to us.
When they start talking about tax breaks for the townspeople, ours amounted to $151; we have lost our lifestyle forever.
We can put up with it, hate it but get used to it, or sell at a greatly reduced price or not at all.
If you live within two to three miles, I pity you because of the noise.
You will have a hard time to fight these because our government receives money. Our state is 100 percent for wind power for bragging rights that Maine is a forerunner in “green.” Politics is a hard thing to fight.
But, one thing is for sure. Once they are up and running, no matter what you do, they are not coming down.
We are not against wind power but strongly feel turbines have to be placed where the impact is less. They should never be within five miles of a dwelling.
Also, money should be put in escrow to remove them when their earning power is gone or they are too expensive to repair.
I worry about Maine becoming a windmill bone yard because no small town will ever be able to afford to remove them.
Carol Cowperthwaite
Mars Hill, Maine
14 June 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/06/15/wind-turbines-ruin-lifestyle/