August 29, 2012
Massachusetts

Petition asks Plymouth legislators for moratorium on wind turbines

By Emily Clark | Wicked Local Plymouth | www.wickedlocal.com 28 August 2012

PLYMOUTH – Wind energy is generating a lot of hot air these days as more and more residents raise complaints. Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, has issued a statement denouncing the siting of wind turbines in residential neighborhoods and a group of residents is now petitioning Town Meeting to decree a two-year moratorium on any wind turbine projects.

“I’m not anti-wind,” petitioner Kieran Kearney, of Treetop Way, said. “I think they shouldn’t be close to residences. And I think it will be very difficult to have any substantial number of turbines without causing problems to residents.”

Director of Planning and Development Lee Hartmann seemed uncertain whether the petition could be legally enacted, even if Town Meeting backs it. He said he’s checking with the town’s attorneys and will report back to the Planning Board on his findings.

In the meantime, disgruntled abutters to turbine projects are appealing them in droves across the state and in Plymouth. Turbine projects proposed off Hedges Pond Road and Head of the Bay Road were granted permits but are under appeal.

A wind turbine project proposed at Plymouth North High School generated so much opposition it was withdrawn, as was another plan to site a wind turbine in a junkyard on Columbus Road. A wind turbine is slated for Colony Place near Walmart, but abutters aren’t exactly thrilled about this project either.

The only wind turbine project to date that has been approved and is moving forward without much fanfare is a 375-foot turbine in Camelot Industrial Park. The wind turbine is currently under construction and hasn’t attracted push back because it’s not near homes.

That’s the crux of the matter for Kearney and others who say wind turbines sited near or in residential areas negatively impact health, property values and a home’s view.

“Plymouth is a beautiful tourist town,” Kearney said. “I don’t think they’re going to help Plymouth in that respect. It’s my hope that, if we take two years to consider this, it will be recognized that wind turbines aren’t right for Plymouth.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/08/29/petition-asks-plymouth-legislators-for-moratorium-on-wind-turbines/