The chairman of the committee exploring a wind turbine for the town is warning that the project is facing "paralysis by analysis" and he is calling on Barrington's "silent majority" to "break the deadlock and move forward on this first-of-many renewable energy solutions."

David Baum issued the call in response to critics who outlined a wide-range of objections to the proposed turbine at Brickyard Pond during a three-hour hearing Oct. 21.

Baum's Committee for Renewable Energy for Barrington (CREB) did not have an opportunity at that hearing to respond to the critics. A date for the next phase of the hearing has not been set.

"The statements by the opposition felt imbalanced to the CREB and did a disservice to the 85+ percent of the people who favor this project," said Baum in a statement emailed to the media. "But opponent opinions have been misleading and designed to support personal preferences."

Baum was referring to a poll on ProJo.com in which about 86 percent said they would approve a turbine near their home. Six percent said they would be opposed. That poll, in which about 200 people indicated a preference, was not scientific.

"But that's one indication," he said.

Baum said a phone poll of Barrington residents last month produced similar results.

(In that survey, 57 percent were in favor of the project, 13 percent were opposed and 30 percent were undecided. But someone answered the phone at only 122 of the 200 homes called, and only 61 people who agreed to take the survey were aware of the turbine proposal.)

Baum said the 292-foot turbine on the peninsula at the pond would be "over 1,000 feet from the nearest home, further back than similar turbines erected in the region" and so far from residences that the risk of being hit by thrown ice from spinning blades or debris from a broken turbine would be "near zero."

Critics have said other countries require a much wider safety zone.

"The project's opponents point to requirements for huge setbacks, without noting that these requirements are applicable to wind farms, [which are] large-scale operations with dozens of larger turbines. Obviously the issues are quite different for a single turbine," he said.

Ronald D. Russo, a mechanical engineer, has asserted that Lumus Corporation, which has been selected to build the turbine if it is approved by the Town Council, has little experience in the field.

Baum said Lumus "has years of construction experience in community projects."

Noise has also been a big concern for neighbors.

When the turbine is moving, "it will not be heard above the birds, insects, rustling leaves, and other normal sounds in the area," Baum said.

In an interview Thursday night, Baum said the committee is preparing to release an in-depth technical analysis of the project, designed to address concerns such as whether there will be enough wind at the site.

Critics have called for actual wind measurements to determine if the breezes will be strong enough to make a turbine at Brickyard Pond economical. The committee has, instead, relied on historical wind speed data collected from other locations, data that have been extrapolated for the Barrington site.