Letter: Windmills
Sun Journal | March 18, 2014 | www.newbernsj.com
I am a new resident of New Bern. I moved here late last year from Massachusetts. I have heard some debate in this area about the feasibility of wind turbines to generate power. On the surface this is a great idea – there seems to be enough wind to generate power, and wind power is a form of green energy. However, I would like to share the story of what happened in one town on Cape Cod when they installed wind turbines.
Residents who live near the turbines have complained about headaches, interrupted sleep and other problems that began after the windmills started turning. In May 2012, 47 people told a board of health hearing about various problems they blamed on the turbines, including sleep deprivation, vertigo and memory loss. But 15 others said there were no problems. There was a town meeting to discuss whether or not to tear the turbines down. The town voted against borrowing $14 million to dismantle the two turbines. Some of the other options discussed were buying up land around the turbines or rescheduling the operation of the turbines so that they would be less disruptive.
Massachusetts did a study of the impact of windmills in January of 2012. They found that there is a strong possibility that wind turbines can negatively impact the sleep of the residents who live near them.
The bottom line here is that we really don’t know everything we need to know about wind turbines. Before we spend millions of dollars putting up turbines, we need to understand what their impact on local residents will be. It will be interesting to see if there is any further action in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
New Bern and the surrounding area is a beautiful, peaceful place to live. Let’s learn from the mistakes made in Massachusetts.
Mary Griswold, New Bern
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/03/19/letter-windmills-2/