Follow law, not wind
Bangor Daily News, www.bangordailynews.com 8 October 2010
George Baker’s recent comments to the press strike the wrong chord for those of us who have spent the last year living with the turbine noise in Vinalhaven. Baker, of Fox Islands Wind and the Island Institute, claims he is committed to running the turbines in compliance. However, on Sept. 14, he is quoted in the BDN: “He told the Associated Press on Tuesday that slowing down the turbines’ blades to lower the noise level by a couple of decibels may not appease critics. And lowering it further could hurt the economic viability of the project.”
Compliance with state regulations is not optional, and the rate payers of the Fox Islands Electric Co-op would expect it to be run within the law. Baker admits that by following state law, Vinalhaven rate payers will lose the savings FIW promised. Responsible planning and siting would have included adequate margins for error. However, like a gambler, he threw the noise dice into the wind turbine mix, gambling with islanders’ personal lives, their homes and the community electrical rates when economic times are tough. He has chosen to lay the blame for his poor planning and lack of foresight wherever he can find a convenient scapegoat.
It is time for George Baker to accept responsibility for his actions and begin to solve the problem he created.
Cheryl Lindgren
Sally Wylie
Vinalhaven
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/10/09/follow-law-not-wind/