April 13, 2016
Massachusetts

Wind turbines on Bourne/Plymouth line will turn

By MICHAEL J. RAUSCH | The Bourne Enterprise | April 12, 2016 | www.capenews.net

Wind turbines in Buzzards Bay have been given approval to spin.

A Barnstable Superior Court judge has denied a motion from the Town of Bourne seeking to prevent four wind turbines recently constructed on a cranberry farm on Head of the Bay Road near the Bourne-Plymouth town line from going into operation.

A Barnstable Superior Court judge has denied a motion from the Town of Bourne seeking to prevent four wind turbines recently constructed on a cranberry farm on Head of the Bay Road near the Bourne-Plymouth town line from going into operation.

In his ruling dated Friday, April 8, Judge Gary A. Nickerson stated that Bourne’s own regulations relative to Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) “are self-limiting in scope.” Judge Nickerson pointed out that the town’s bylaw stipulates that “no person shall construct or install a WECS in the the Town of Bourne unless in compliance with these regulations.”

“The Regulations do not empower the Board to regulate the construction of wind turbines in the town of Plymouth,” the judge’s ruling stated.

The Bourne Board of Health had argued that because the turbines cast a shadow across the border and would affect Bourne residents, the project was subject to the town’s regulations regarding Wind Energy Conversion Systems. Members of the board of health said that the company operating the turbines, Future Generation Wind, LLC, needed to secure a variance from town regulations before the machines could be operated.

Judge Nickerson also noted that boards of health have broad powers to regulate and prevent nuisances that affect the public health. He stated that it remains to be seen “whether the operation of the wind turbines will constitute a nuisance which affects the health of the inhabitants of Bourne; and, if so, whether the Board takes lawful action.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/04/13/wind-turbines-on-bourneplymouth-line-will-turn/