Opinions
Wind turbines in Marshfield 'a stupid idea'
Building a gigantic wind turbine in Brant Rock is at best a stupid idea and at worst a disaster.
August 23, 2006
by Mike Squillante
in Marshfield Mariner
Building a gigantic wind turbine in Brant Rock is at best a stupid idea and at worst a disaster. Brant Rock Village is in the middle of an exciting revitalization. Commercial properties are being renovated or converted into nice homes; dozens of other homes have been and are being rebuilt, and the town is investing considerable funds in upgrading and beautifying the Brant Rock Island area. We do not need the devastating set back that will result from constructing a 260-foot wind turbine in Brant Rock. Not only will this have a devastating effect on the quality of life - they tell us we will only hear the lawn mower like sound of the generator if our windows are open or we are outside on our patios! - it will devastate our property values. The property values surrounding this eyesore will drop $30,000 to $50,000, assuming that it is possible to sell the homes at all; who would voluntarily move next to a monstrous, noisy, 260-foot structure? And make no mistake it will be a monstrosity. To put it into perspective, everyone in the area is familiar with the submarine tower in Brant Rock. That tower is 70-feet tall. The proposed windmill is nearly four times taller and it is an awful lot wider. Just picture four submarine towers stacked one upon the other in your back yard.
There are blatant contradictions in the arguments presented to promote the turbine. "The turbine will supply half the power needed and the rest will be sold to the national grid." If the turbine supplies only half the power there is nothing left over to sell to the grid. And since power must be brought to the site there is no savings in infrastructure costs; in fact, there will be duplication of some of the infrastructure to bring power in from two sources. The notion that the turbine must be located next to the plant is also silly, unless they are producing a new kind of electricity that won't flow though wires.
Finally they tell us that the wind turbine might save taxpayers up to $30 per year. Does this mean $30 per year after the town's bond payments are completed? The good news for those of us that will lose equity in our homes is that at the expected payback of $30 per year, we will only have to wait about 1,000 years to break even.
Please don't inflict Brant Rock Village with this monstrosity. If Marshfield Selectman Patti Epstein thinks it is such a good idea, let's accept her offer and put it in her backyard, not ours.
There are blatant contradictions in the arguments presented to promote the turbine. "The turbine will supply half the power needed and the rest will be sold to the national grid." If the turbine supplies only half the power there is nothing left over to sell to the grid. And since power must be brought to the site there is no savings in infrastructure costs; in fact, there will be duplication of some of the infrastructure to bring power in from two sources. The notion that the turbine must be located next to the plant is also silly, unless they are producing a new kind of electricity that won't flow though wires.
Finally they tell us that the wind turbine might save taxpayers up to $30 per year. Does this mean $30 per year after the town's bond payments are completed? The good news for those of us that will lose equity in our homes is that at the expected payback of $30 per year, we will only have to wait about 1,000 years to break even.
Please don't inflict Brant Rock Village with this monstrosity. If Marshfield Selectman Patti Epstein thinks it is such a good idea, let's accept her offer and put it in her backyard, not ours.
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Massachusetts
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General
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