One opponent of wind energy was armed with a three-page testimonial about his plight of living near a wind turbine. ...He began, “Do you know what it’s like to live for 30 years in peace and quiet, to come home and see 350-foot blades from wind turbines in your neighborhood? Do you know what it’s like to feel uncomfortable in your own yard, having to listen to an industrial noise that never seems to end?”

General Massachusetts

Falmouth Board of Selectmen halted operation of the town’s second wind turbine Tuesday, June 20, after a Barnstable County Superior Court judge deemed the town-owned power source a nuisance.

Impact on People Legal Massachusetts

In this important ruling issued by Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty II, the court ordered that the decision of the Falmouth MA Zoning Board of Appeals be affirmed to the extent that the operation of Wind 1 and Wind 2 constitute a nuisance and that the Town of Falmouth cease and desist operation of the wind turbines immediately. The full order can be accessed by clicking the document icon located on this page.  

Legal Impact on People Massachusetts

A Barnstable Superior Court judge on Tuesday ordered the town of Falmouth to shut down two town-owned wind turbines. ...In an emergency meeting Tuesday night, selectmen instructed the town manager to comply with Moriarty’s order.

Impact on People Legal Massachusetts

The area along the coast of New England is considered the Saudi Arabia of offshore wind. However, the federal tax subsidy designed to jump-start production of ocean wind energy will soon be drying up.

Taxes & Subsidies Offshore Wind USA Massachusetts

If you’ve taken off from Logan Airport, you’ve probably seen the unusual white wind turbine on Deer Island — the one that looks a bit like a lollipop and stands apart from the two more traditional turbines that produce electricity for the water treatment plant there.

General Massachusetts

Despite the 2013 Wind Turbine Bylaw prohibiting the existing turbine structures, and the zoning board’s 2016 permit denial for one of the turbines, I think town hall and wind turbine neighbors are destined to do this forever. Exposing perhaps the real victim in this David and Goliath paradox – Falmouth itself.

Impact on People Massachusetts

NEW BEDFORD — Amid all of the challenges that could face offshore wind power along the East Coast — legal disputes from commercial fishing advocates, construction plans altered by whale migrations, President Donald Trump’s emphasis on revitalizing fossil fuels and more — some promising news for renewable industry supporters arrived in mid-March.

Offshore Wind Massachusetts

​Fairhaven’s north turbine suffered a setback when a component blew out and caught fire on April 7. According to the fire department report, just before 3:30 p.m., a public works employee heard a “bang” and saw smoke coming from one of the wind turbines (WT).

Safety Structural Failure Massachusetts

Despite the decision, the turbine known as Wind 1 — one of two turbines at the Falmouth Wastewater Treatment Facility — must remain shut down as the town battles its own Zoning Board of Appeals in Land Court and faces off with neighbors in a morass of additional legal challenges.

Legal Massachusetts

FALL RIVER — Bad blade pitch bearings could ruin your day.

General Massachusetts

The Eagle editorial's implication that NIMBYism must not stand in the way of saving the planet is as irrational as it is unfounded. The hard-working politicians and administrators in the East have neither wind nor ridges in their backyards, so they pontificate to us out here in the Berkshires that we must (must!) accept wind turbines on every ridge if they say so. Or else.

Impact on People Massachusetts

While the newly discovered right whale gatherings have attracted scientists studying population trends, food sources and more, the information arose because state offshore wind energy officials want to answer some basic questions. The four-year study sets baseline data about marine wildlife in the lease areas, and that information could be used in federal and state environmental permitting in the future, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Offshore Wind Director William White said.

Impact on Wildlife Massachusetts

Big disagreement on whether bigger is better

Offshore Wind USA Massachusetts

"[Police] Officer confirmed that turbine noise in bedroom was excessive," the officer reported, but because the noise was coming from Plymouth, Plymouth police were called. Plymouth police told them to call the board of health, which passed the call along to the building inspector.

Impact on People Noise Massachusetts

"During the big windstorm two weeks ago the sound of the blades was plainly audible inside my home, and my house actually vibrated," McGrath said. "My wife had to steady a television on the dresser upstairs as it moved toward the edge." McGrath says he doesn't want to make this personal. He wants data to be gathered, analyzed, and appropriate action taken.

Impact on People Noise Massachusetts

Based on his experience living one mile from wind turbines, Lorusso became a community activist and documented through photography and stories and is sharing that with other communities considering installing wind towers. “These are being sold to us that they are saving the environment,” he said. “I am not anti-wind, I am pro-environment.”

Impact on People Massachusetts New York

Some neighbors have embraced them; others have complained and have been successful in curbing their hours of operation. Some turbines have had technical problems, and many have been proposed but never built in the face of local opposition.

General Massachusetts

First time it has been brought to the ground since it went up in 2009 NEWBURYPORT — For the first time since it went online eight years ago, the 292-foot-high wind turbine on Parker Street is being partly dismantled, but only temporarily.

General Massachusetts

For a couple of years now, Beacon Hill insiders have viewed the once-vaunted Cape Wind Energy Project as dead, a victim of local opposition, persistent lawsuits, financing challenges, and power purchase and permitting setbacks.

General USA Massachusetts