Windmills on Ice Mountain - Gamesa Wind Turbines

[Bill Latchford]

I went up to the top of Decker Hollow rd. today to look at the view. They will be easily seen, but in my opinion...I think they will not be unsightly. they are pretty far away and not looking right in your window as I had seen up at Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm. So all I see is the sound / noise issue. I can say that from my observations at Allegheny ridge that distance was not as intrusive. I don't know the distance, but to put in as a visual, when I was going up the road towards Portage, there is a pretty big house that I parked at on the right. I could see like 5 or 6 windmills on the ridge across from his property. He said he could not hear them and they did not bother him. I can say in my opinion that these were not intrusive to sight or sound to me. That is how I am perceiving the ones up on top of Ice Mountain, at this moment. I want to get some more input from the residents up there. I only spoke to one person, whom had nothing bad to say about the project.

[Ice Man]

Will the noise from the turbines bother those who use Ice Mt for hunting, hiking, etc.?

[Ice Man]

The dark sides of wind power
Jan 26, 2005 from North Adams Transcript by Eleanor Tillinghast (1921 Reads)
Noise may not be your first concern when looking at wind turbines, but for neighbors, it is tormenting. Dave Pevec, who lives more than a quarter-mile from the Waymart wind power plant in rural Pennsylvania, complains that the noise keeps him awake at night.

"It sounds like an airport ... my peace is gone forever." Lou Orehek, whose family lives nearby, says, "It is the opinion of members of my family that the windmills generate a low frequency 'grind'... and this noise travels more than 7,000 feet." In New York, Pastor Kathleen Danley lives two good-size fields from the Fenner wind-power plant, and describes the noise as "a loud clothes dryer; that would probably be the closest sound, that constant turning sound." She explains, "We were told that the windmills had been redesigned so as not to be noisy, but the grinding noise goes on 24 hours a day (when they are operating) and at times is far worse than other times."

In Michigan, Kelly Alexander lives a quarter-mile from the Mackinaw City turbines. The low frequency sound creates a drumming that penetrates the walls of his home. Even with doors and windows tightly closed, there is no way to escape it. His 80-year-old mother lives next door. The noise keeps her awake at night. Sister Chris at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, more than a mile to the north, says that when the turbines are started up, she can hear a loud whoosh that is startling. In West Virginia, Paula Stahl describes hiking up to the Mountaineer turbines. "The noise was incredible. It surprised me. It sounded like airplanes or helicopters. And it traveled. Sometimes you could not hear the sound standing right under one, but you heard it 3,000 yards down the hill, where the wind carried the sound."

Waymart and Fenner have 1.5-megawatt General Electric turbines like the ones planned for the Hoosac wind power plant in the towns of Florida and Monroe, Massachusetts. The Mountaineer turbines are the same size. The Mackinaw turbines are slightly smaller. Sunlight strobing through spinning wind-turbine blades is also distressing to neighbors. "When the sun is setting, it shines through the blades, causing severe flashing in our house," complains a homeowner near the Lincoln wind-power plant in Wisconsin. "We get a 'strobe effect' throughout our house and over our entire property (40 acres)," says a neighbor. Others add, "shadows are cast over the ground and affect my balance," and "shadows from the blades sweep over our house and yard and ruin our quality of life."

Physical reactions are pronounced. In England, where the effects of windpower plants have been widely documented, Dave Brierley, a former policeman living in Cumbria, says, "I live 1,000 meters south of the wind farm and my wife, who is asthmatic, gets very distressed when the wind is coming from the north because she can feel her breathing trying to synchronize with the thump of the blades." A newspaper article titled, Wind farms 'make people sick who live up to a mile away' reports on the findings of Dr. Amanda Harry: All but one of 14 people living near a wind-power plant in Cornwall have experienced increased numbers of headaches, and 10 said that they have had problems sleeping, and suffered from anxiety. She says, "People demonstrated a range of symptoms from headaches, migraines, nausea, dizziness, palpitations and tinnitus to sleep disturbance, stress, anxiety and depression."

People living near wind turbines aren't the only ones affected. Constantly flashing lights on turbine hubs can be seen for miles. One observer of the Waymart facility describes "the multitude of red blinking aircraft warning lights that now trace across the ridge top at night." Federal law requires Enxco to fit the 20 Hoosac turbines with flashing white lights during the day, and flashing red lights at night.

What about the effect on property values? Despite claims by wind-power supporters that turbines have no depressive effect on nearby home sales, there's a lot of evidence to the contrary in areas where the landscape is the attraction. At a public meeting on Enxco's proposal for a wind power plant in Lowell, Vt., a Realtor trying to sell a farm near the site told a company representative that his assertion that land values won't decrease is 'ludicrous.' Don Maclure said that when he tells people interested in buying the farm about the proposed project he never hears from them again. In England, newspaper articles highlight the problem with such titles as "Wind turbines made our home unsellable," "Wind farms stunt growth of property value," and "Potential losses could run into millions." People in Florida and Monroe voted for the Hoosac project before they had a chance to learn about its effects. Their neighbors on Tilda Hill Road and nearby areas will undoubtedly suffer. Sportsmen and hikers will notice the noise, vibration, sun strobing and flashing lights. Snowmobilers and skiers will risk ice hurled from spinning blades. Residents of Clarksburg, North Adams, and Williamstown will be unable to escape the visual blight of the magnificent Hoosac range. How will the towns of Florida and Monroe compensate all those people for the damage to their quality of life?

[George M.]

Ice Man,

Unfortunately very little research is being done to evaluate the impact of wind turbine noise on wildlife. I'm not aware of any research on wind turbine noise and its effect on birds or most other species of wildlife. However, I am aware of one graduate student in CA who is studying the impact of wind turbine noise upon ground-dwelling small mammals. His research has detected "behavioral shifts in response to wind turbine noise" for small, ground-dwelling mammals, and he believes other impacts are possible - see his comment letter to CA Energy Commission: http://www.energy.ca.gov/renewables/06- ... -08-07.PDF and his bio with his current employeer - USFS (http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/news/PSW_News/ ... abin.shtml.

However, I would bet that wind turbine noise emissions would adversely impact owls, since they depend on very quiet conditions in order to use the sounds of their prey to detect and capture them.

In addition, I share your concern about the subsurface noise emissions of wind turbines and their impact to rattlesnakes, which spend about half their life in a subterranean "hibernaculum" (overwintering location) - probably in the same sheltered location which many, many generations of their ancestors also used. I would also have similar noise impact concerns for wind turbines that are proposed for siting near habitat of rare mammals such as the Allegheny Woodrat and the Rock Vole, or near other rare vertebrates such as Green Salamander, because these species live primarily underground and/or within crevices and fissures of bedrock or associated rock piles.

[Bill Latchford]

Will the noise from the turbines bother those who use Ice Mt for hunting, hiking, etc.?

This is only my opinion, When we went on the tour of the Wind Farm at Allegheny Ridge, I did not find it bothersome to be there. It must not bother some game animals since I have videos from YouTube with wild turkey and deer feeding by a turning wind mill. It will all be up to the individual on how they perceive these giants. Like I have said before...I think they are a very "neat" piece of technology.

[banksy]

Will the noise from the turbines bother those who use Ice Mt for hunting, hiking, etc.?

This is only my opinion, When we went on the tour of the Wind Farm at Allegheny Ridge, I did not find it bothersome to be there. It must not bother some game animals since I have videos from YouTube with wild turkey and deer feeding by a turning wind mill. It will all be up to the individual on how they perceive these giants. Like I have said before...I think they are a very "neat" piece of technology.

So is your official stance now Bill that you are in favor of putting these on Ice Mountain?

[Bill Latchford]

Will the noise from the turbines bother those who use Ice Mt for hunting, hiking, etc.?

This is only my opinion, When we went on the tour of the Wind Farm at Allegheny Ridge, I did not find it bothersome to be there. It must not bother some game animals since I have videos from YouTube with wild turkey and deer feeding by a turning wind mill. It will all be up to the individual on how they perceive these giants. Like I have said before...I think they are a very "neat" piece of technology.

So is your official stance now Bill that you are in favor of putting these on Ice Mountain?

Since people are so insane over my stance I no longer give an official stance until I cast my vote on the night my name is called to ask me Yes or No to the Lease with Gamesa. I most certainly will take time to sit down and talk to some if they like. My job, in this case, is to collect as much information as possible, good and bad, and put it in some order in my head and make an informed decision that I hope the majority can live with.

[no-it-all]

Remember folks, while we just had 4 councilmembers elected this year; 3 more and a mayor will be up in 2. Go to the meetings! They represent you and your thoughts, not what they think is best for you. Make your voice be heard at the meeting in January. Rendell and Gamesa must be worried, they sent in the heavy hitters ; Jubileer who is now a lobbyist for hire now works for GAMESA and has met with the mayor. Don't let your folks who represent you waffle. If they don't listen to the majority opinion, make sure you're registered to vote. get a couple people willing to serve, and get the papers turned in by that March before the fall election(pretty sure those petitions are due by March) and elect others that will listen. It's simple if the people don't want the windmills; they shouldn't go up. If that $$ was needed for something, then the council needs to tighten the budget purse strings like they did last year minus the EMT/LST tax. They went the extra mile last year to get it right. I'm not critisizing anyone, just let them see pressure on both sides so a yes vote wouldn't be the easy out.

[Ice Man]

Oh yes I almost forgot in my ranting, I have been given facts and figures from both sides, which is my job to look at, who are you to say that yours are the only one's I should pay attention to? Like I told the Citizens of Tyrone that showed up, If you want to put more petitions in please do it, They are the ones who I serve, not someone from Bellefonte. Please just make sure that the names and signatures and Tyrone addresses are on there. I think it is very important that you concentrate your efforts on just Tyrone residents.

At one time Councilman Latchford said that his vote would reflect the opinion of the majority of his constituents. Is this still true? If so, Tyrone Borough residents need to get a petition drive going, write letters to the editor, talk to borough council members, send emails to Mayor Kilmartin, and testify at borough council meetings.

The fate of Ice Mt for your lifetimes will be decided by Tyrone Borough Council early next year. If you do not make your opposition known to council, and council votes YES to the windplant, then you have only yourselves to blame.

[Bill Latchford]

Oh yes I almost forgot in my ranting, I have been given facts and figures from both sides, which is my job to look at, who are you to say that yours are the only one's I should pay attention to? Like I told the Citizens of Tyrone that showed up, If you want to put more petitions in please do it, They are the ones who I serve, not someone from Bellefonte. Please just make sure that the names and signatures and Tyrone addresses are on there. I think it is very important that you concentrate your efforts on just Tyrone residents.

At one time Councilman Latchford said that his vote would reflect the opinion of the majority of his constituents. Is this still true? If so, Tyrone Borough residents need to get a petition drive going, write letters to the editor, talk to borough council members, send emails to Mayor Kilmartin, and testify at borough council meetings.

The fate of Ice Mt for your lifetimes will be decided by Tyrone Borough Council early next year. If you do not make your opposition known to council, and council votes YES to the windplant, then you have only yourselves to blame.

Very good point Ice man....Tyrone citizens need to get together and make their thoughts known to us on this issue. Out of the meeting on December 5, only about 30 were actually from Tyrone...Not a great cross section of the community. That is why I suggested to them to get a petition drive going. Their thoughts, at least in my mind, truly mean something. When people say 70% of the community is against this, that is a gross misleading statement. There are 5200 + citizens in Tyrone. The statement is actually 70% of respondents, I for one do not know the actual number of respondents but I know it was not 5200. I would imagine that if there were 200 actual Tyrone respondents that is just under 150 people in Tyrone that are against the wind plant. So get that petition together Tyrone and make your thoughts known to us on Council.

[150thBucktailCo.I]

Seriously, if you really want to see how many people residing in Tyrone actually take the time to get involved in Boro's direction, just research and look at the number of folks who actually voted this past election, and the time before it.

Probably Blair county's . org website has the numbers. Although, that site is pretty crappy and is in dire need of updating.

That's where you will probably find the best representative number or percentage of Tyrone's actual population that is probably somewhat up-to-date on this issue.

In my opinion, that's the number that should count.

Now, and I'm totally serious, get that petition and head for the Bingo Hall tonight!

[no-it-all]

According to city-data.com and the 2000 census there were 5528 people in Tyrone estimates for 2007 are bewtween 5200-5300, of those people, a little under 2400 are registered voters and less than 1000 cast a ballot in November.

[zapatista]

Now, and I'm totally serious, get that petition and head for the Bingo Hall tonight!

I agree 100%.

I'd also consider taking them to other places like church services, markets, etc...
Anywhere you've got a large captive audience.

Since everything seems to hinge on residency in the borough - you'll want to make sure you include a place for folks to enter their mailing address.

[cruiser1]

There are some great inspirational Industrial Wind Turbine songs on the Restaurant Inspections forum page 2. I hope Gamesa enjoys them! I did. Very funny stuff!

[sandstone]

Who's coordinating the anti-windplant petition?

To whom should I direct Tyrone residents who'd like to sign the anti-windplant petition?

PM me if you don't want the answer on the forum.

P.S.: I'm not a resident of the borough or of Snyder Township.