In a follow up story in the Salem News (5.22.12), Mayor Driscoll confirms that thus far there is  no evidence to suggest that the wind turbine at Winter Island will cause problems for neighbors. New wind tests in Falmouth show that one of the two turbines is louder than expected, but the turbine is an old model, not proposed for Salem. Read the Salem News story.

The Salem Energy Planning Office has begun an additional round of acoustic testing on Winter Island Road in Salem and Naugus Head in Marblehead, part of what Salem city officials describe as efforts to address community concerns about the possibility of a wind turbine being constructed on Winter Island. Read more.

Clean energy companies in Massachusetts already employ 64,000 people, and that number is growing. The industry added more than 4,000 jobs in 2010, a growth rate of almost 7 percent, and that rate will likely double in 2011. Whether providing energy services, like my own company, or pushing disruptive technologies for electric vehicle batteries, solar thermal, smart grid or wind, clean energy firms are growing and expanding in Massachusetts every day. Read more.

http://bcove.me/4tzrsbnb

The health panels results have just been released.

The report provides a thorough review of the literature on sound from turbines and the potential for sleep deprivation. This is a complex subject, and much depends on the type of wind turbine and the where the turbine is sited. As Salem reviews the question of whether a wind turbine at Winter Island could disturb close neighbors, this report will be a useful resource.

The findings of the report confirm that there is no scientific evidence to support “wind turbine syndrome.” The expert panel found no evidence of “infrasound” or vibrations that impact human health.

As a Willows resident and homeowner, I respect my neighbors who disagree with my support for the proposed wind turbine on Winter Island.

Our different opinions should not divide us as a community. However, the fallacies and untruths expressed by Kathy Driscoll-Gauthier in her Jan. 9 letter to the editor (“Willows homeowner no fan of proposed turbine”) should not go unchallenged.

What is best for the Willows neighborhood, the city of Salem, the region and the planet can be debated; however, hyperbole and fear should not obscure fact. Much of the information that Ms. Gauthier questions has been presented to the community and the city at numerous public forums. The reality is that the Winter Island site was chosen as one of two possible sites for the turbine based on consistent wind. The only other possible site was Forest River Park, even closer to more residences.

I, too, have also done research. I have visited the Ipswich turbine twice, on a very windy day and a day with moderate winds. I accompanied my daughter doing research for a science project and a scientist friend with a decibel reader. On both occasions the ambient noise was louder than the turbine. On both occasions, an electric toothbrush also produced more noise than the turbine.

I have also read several peer-reviewed articles from neutral authors about noise and light flicker. We can all find information via a Google search that fuels our political or personal agendas. What we must do is seek literature vetted and researched by scientific experts. All of the materials that I have read have similar findings: Noise is negligible and light flicker will be limited. I have found no vetted evidence for any other health risks.

My family and I enjoy Winter Island as much as the other residents of Salem, and we have spent many summer days at the playground and on the beach. We have attended school picnics there and played pirate at the fort. We have fed seagulls, walked the dog, and gone to sailing camp. We have attended birthday parties at the function hall, and have seen a fox den in the dunes.

The turbine will not prohibit any of these activities. It is located at the far end, near the harbormaster’s house. I have stood in the 15-foot radius that will be the base of the turbine. The rest of the island will be open for all of the activities that we have enjoyed thus far.

Based on the extensive feasibility study commissioned by the city, there does not seem to be reason to doubt there is enough wind at Winter Island for the turbine to pay for itself and reduce the city’s electricity costs by 50 percent. My property taxes may not go down as a result of the turbine, but revenues from the turbine will protect us from future price increases and afford the city additional revenue.

But perhaps the greatest reason that I and many of my friends in the Willows support the turbine, is that I would rather live in a community that is a leader in the production of clean energy.

There is no question that climate change is going to affect us all unless we take drastic and meaningful action as a society. To pretend it isn’t so is fantasy. If the warmest winter in recent decades, this past fall’s missing color burst, last summer’s record number of oppressive days, destructive freezes in Florida, killer tornadoes in Alabama, tsunamis in Japan, mudslides across the Americas, melting ice caps, scorched crops, and disappearing bees, don’t make you nervous, one lone wind turbine should not alarm you.

I’d rather see our community lead the way to a more sustainable future than regret not having done more when it’s too late and the Willows is underwater.

1) determining the ambient sound levels,
2) calculating the hub height wind speeds, and
3) modeling the increase in ambient sound pressure level associated with selected turbine(s) operating at the proposed location(s).

In particular, the methodology addresses the importance of collecting sufficient measurements in a project area to firmly establish the ambient sound levels at wind speeds high enough for the turbine to generate power. For a wind energy project, this task is complicated by the fact that simply measuring the lowest L90 sound level in a given one- to two-day period is insufficient because winds may be too light during that time period for turbine operation.

 You can read the revised methodology guidelines here.

I feel strongly that the proposed wind turbine on Winter Island, even though it will generate far less energy than the power plant on Fort Avenue, will have a relatively significant and positive impact on the citizens of Salem. Perhaps equally significant is that it will be another incremental and symbolic step to a worldwide commitment that eventually must be made. Read more.