August 25, 2011
Massachusetts

Driscoll launches wind turbine public information campaign

By Justin A. Rice, Town Correspondent, boston.com 25 August 2011

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and the Salem Renewable Energy Task Force have launched a public information campaign to inform residents about the proposal to build a 380-foot wind turbine on Winter Island.

The campaign is a direct response to the Aug. 2 public meeting on the turbine, during which there was a chippy back-and-forth between opponents and proponents who were both armed with ammo from the Internet.

“The wonderful thing about the Internet is it has everything, some of it valuable, some of it not,” Driscoll said at that meeting. “We want to try to make sure we stick to the things most valuable, hopefully fair and objective and use our website for the Renewable Energy Task Force page, as a way to gather information.”

A consultant recently completed a state-funded feasibility study for the city that demonstrated the technical and economic viability of the single turbine with a capacity of 1.6 megawatts, or enough electricity to power 300 to 500 homes. The turbine would draw an estimated $586,000 in revenue annually and save the city more than $1 million a year in electric costs.

But during the three-hour forum on Aug. 2 several Salem Willows and Marblehead residents expressed concerns that the turbine would be too loud, too expensive and unsafe.

Several members of the audience cited a Boston Herald story that said the state has agreed to review the health impact of low frequency sounds generated by wind turbines.

Shortly after the meeting Driscoll sat down with met the task force and environmentalists to determine the strategy for the public information campaign.

The campaign had a soft launch earlier this week when the task force attended the Greater Salem Green Drinks monthly meeting on Tuesday night at the Black Lobster restaurant. Members of the task force did not give a formal presentation but they did answer questions.

Similar Q&A sessions will be held at neighborhood meetings throughout September.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/08/25/driscoll-launches-wind-turbine-public-information-campaign/