June 9, 2012
Massachusetts

Questions remain about moving town’s turbines

By BRENT RUNYON, Falmouth Enterprise | 8 June 2012

Falmouth Selectman Mary (Pat) Flynn told the Wind Turbine Options Analysis Group on Wednesday that the town has asked state representatives to explore moving the town-owned wind turbines to the Massachusetts Military Reservation, but that option is extraordinarily complicated.

Ms. Flynn said the town has asked Massachusetts Senate President Therese M. Murray (D- Plymouth) to look into moving the turbines and to explore funding options and those efforts were ongoing. Moving the two town-owned 1.65-megawatt Vestas turbines from the wastewater treatment plant on Blacksmith Shop Road to the base is a logical solution to the neighbors’ problems, Ms. Flynn said.

“It’s always been on the table, because it’s so logical. Why not put them on the base, because we don’t have any space in Falmouth,” she said. But moving the Falmouth wind turbines to the base is also complex, Ms. Flynn said, because of the flight path issues, military ownership of the land, water protection areas and other wind projects on the base. “It’s not an easy solution and it’s not easy to decide. It’s out there. It’s something that can be considered, but it’s not an easy one. It’s a very complex one,” Ms. Flynn said. Moving the turbines to the base could require special state legislation, she said.

But Laura Schroeder, spokesman for Sen. Murray, said moving the Falmouth turbines to the base is something that has been considered, but is off the table. “The Senate president has talked to them about it and there are a number of reasons,” why it will not work, she said. Falmouth Town Manager Julian M. Suso said moving the turbines to the base should not be dismissed. It remains part of a long list of options that are going to be fully articulated and fully reviewed in the days and weeks to come,” he said. “No options have been dismissed whatsoever. It would be premature to do that.”

State Representative Timothy Madden (D-Nantucket) said he has not been asked to look into moving the turbines, but is available to help the town with any assistance he can provide.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/09/questions-remain-about-moving-towns-turbines/