January 8, 2013
Massachusetts

Sleepless in Scituate: Turbines keep many awake

Reported by: Dan Hausle | www1.whdh.com

Families in Scituate are asking town leaders to shut down the wind turbine that’s leaving them tossing and turning every night.

They say since it started spinning last march, they can’t sleep and are dealing with other health problems.

The McKeever family of four lives literally in the shadow of the town’s new wind turbine.

The flickering shadows sometimes as long as three hours a day drive them out of their home.

“It stops in the front of the house, it goes into the house, when it gets into inside of the home, that’s when we have to vacate. You just can’t stay in the house,” said Mark McKeever.

At a town health board meeting, residents who live near the turbine complain the flicker and noise is costing them sleep the stress, affecting their work and their children’s school.

“It sounds like you’re sleeping next to LaGuardia…you don’t buy a house in Scituate to have the LaGuardia-like experience,” said Tom Thompson.

The contractor who built the turbine is offering a study of the noise but doesn’t want to pay to examine the flicker or possible health effects.

Residents want all three studies and eventually hope to get the turbine torn down. The turbine builder says he just gave the town what they asked for.

“The town asked us to build this project so they could buy the power,” said Gordon Deane, turbine contractor. “It’s a little disingenuous to say, ‘now they you built it, you’re going to buy the power, you got to shut it down.’”

The families say they are in the fight for the long haul not only to get back their nights, but their days as well.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/01/08/sleepless-in-scituate-turbines-keep-many-awake/