Save Our SeaShore Alliance to Protect Cape Cod National SeaShore from Wind Turbines!

STOP Wind Turbines in Cape Cod National Seashore Wellfleet, Ma

Feel free to have a look around, no login necessary.  Sign our petition below. Register on the right to keep up-to-date, talk on our Forum and make comments. Contact George_Price@nps.gov Superintendent of CCNS and jeanne.maclauchlan@wellfleet-ma.gov Wellfleet town secretary to pass along your thoughts to the town of managers, to tell them to not allow our parks to become an industrial site.

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The Wellfleet Energy Commission is planning to build a 400 foot tall wind turbine(that is more than 6 ranger stations on top of each other) about ½ mile from Whitecrest Beach in the woods where people hike, ride, hunt and live. The will clear some forest for the complex, along with a wide road and wires. Officials say it will be a moneymaker that makes minimal noise and is only 10 TIMES LOUDER than normal,  its 400 feet will blend in, only kill a few birds and not disturb people or animals. The problem is other people's experience say otherwise, look at Hard Lesson in Vinalhaven, ME or respected journalist Charles Gibson.

SaveOurSeashore was founded by resident and non resident families who have been enjoying Wellfleet for up to 50 years or more.  We all enjoy the results of what JFK wisely protected. He stopped the clock of development within the Cape Cod National Seashore resulting in a protection of a special area enjoyed by the public. Some minor changes have been made, but till now no large commercial or industrial activity have been developed. Why the current Wellfleet Energy Commission (WEC) is ignoring this beautiful history and landscape is a mystery. The other lower Cape towns have all defeated attempts to build large wind turbines to maintain the integrity of their towns. All other National Parks have been protected from industrial wind turbines. Please help us convince the current government to maintain this wonderful legacy.

There are three areas of thought that this may not be a good idea. The first  is it is a National Park. Second, is the financial risk to the town would be great. Third is the question of ‘Not In My BackYard’ (NIMBY).

National Park:

1) This is from Wyoming's Wind Turbine Siting Guide, does Mass. treat National Parks differently?

Units of the National Park system (including National Parks and National Monuments) are managed under a strong legal mandate which directs the federal government to “protect and preserve” these lands and their natural resources “for the use and enjoyment of the public.” National Park units are precluded from industrial development (although commercial development for tourism is permitted. Wind energy development would not be allowed by law in these units regardless of their wind energy potential, and key viewsheds visible from park overlooks should be protected from visible wind energy development as well.

2) This is a National Park. Do we want this industrial turbine making the sound of a helicopter in our parks? It has been documented that the noise can be heard from up to 3 miles away. The current guidelines for the state allow a 10 times increase in noise from turbines over ambient. This appears to be a generous allowance for this new industry.

3) The tower will in the center of one of the largest tract of non-fragmented wild land in Cape Cod National Seashore. What will be the impact on various wildlife that have come to rely on Cape Cod National Seashore as an undisturbed area. Many acres of woods will cut down. If a full security perimeter is enforced to the manufactures suggested 1350 feet that may result in 100 or more acres off limits per turbine. Possibly a hunting ban in the area as security precaution, a bullet hitting the spinning blade possible causing the destruction of the entire tower.  These are murky areas that once the tower is built and rules passed, you can't undo. A National Park is for people's enjoyment!

4) Do we wish for a tower that is 400 feet high? The blades are similar in size to a full sized 747 airplane rotating in the sky. It is higher than any natural point on Cape Cod. It is 60% taller than the Pilgrim Tower (252 feet) in Provincetown.  It will be viewable from any vista on a great part of Cape Cod. This commercial scale turbine will be the second tallest object on Cape Cod after the smoke stack in Sandwich at 500 feet.

5) Is this the generation which overturns the preservation of the Cape Cod National Seashore? The preservation of this area for 50 years has left by any definition a truly beautiful area without industrialization. There are numerous efforts not only from Wellfleet but many towns on Cape Cod to industrialize the wind. Though some towns, such as Eastham, have defeated proposals for large wind turbines, only time will tell which towns will protect their scenic areas.

6) The town is using a municipal use argument for this land…unclear what provides for that allowance within a National Park.

7) A map has been produced for the Seashore with assistance of the Wellfleet Energy Committee declaring that a 400 ft wind turbine won’t affect the viewshed. The viewshed analysis has chosen certain vista as protected and others not important. Unclear why some were overlooked, as I would think in a National Park all viewshed would be important.

Our understanding is that ONE MILLION POUNDS of concrete will be poured for the base and is not bonded to ever be removed it. There is another almost 500,000 lbs. of turbine and tower on top of that. The effect on the water aquifer of such a large structure is unknown.

9) There are currently studies underway in a number of countries concerning the killing of birds even with the newer turbines. The Peregrine Falcon and Short-Eared Owl are both endangered and the Northern Harrier is threatened in Massachusetts. These birds are known to Wellfleet including the specific area the turbine is planned for and have been documented to be killed by Wind Turbines. In NJ one of only 40 resident Peregrine Falcons was killed by a similar turbine. They like to perch on the highest tower. There are only 28 of these Endangered birds that nest in Mass. with at least one that roams this area. The Northern Harrier also nests in this area. In Norway they are looking at potentially shutting down parts of an active wind farm because of the number of eagles killed. In Altamont, CA even with mitigation techniques and replacement of older turbines with new turbines more than a thousand Raptors are being killed every year and with more study the known numbers are rising dramatically especially the burrowing owl. The energy companies are being sued to stop the killing of so many birds, including endangered species. The American Kestrels know to frequent the proposed area and whose population has fallen dramatically due to other reasons have been documented to being killed by wind turbines.

10) The tower will be lighted with, I believe, a red blinking light. It is unknown as to how disturbing this will be for animals and people in what was an undisturbed area. The AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY, DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE, and NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY have petitioned the FCC to expedite its introduction of new rules to protect migratory birds against tower strikes. The FAA is looking into the possibility of banning steady-burning lighting sidemounted on tall towers in favor of white strobe lighting that might not attract the birds the way the standard red lights do.

Financial Risk

Let’s first explore the financial risk the WEC will expose the to town. The thinking is that in addition to a low carbon energy source of electricity, the town would lower its energy bill and even potentially lower individual bills. This may be true if the netmetering is favorable. The problem is that this large and contentious undertaking has numerous potentially costly risks:

1) The WEC optimist estimates of the wind turbine usage are 25% higher than similar real world turbines. A study of estimates against actual show that usage (or capacity factors) are grossly over estimated. What if their ideal estimates don't work...will the town lose money?

2) Being a very intrusive industrial tower in close proximity to houses that the WEC's own studies have already shown to be adversely affected, may result in:

• A drastic reduction in property tax assessment in that area.
• It may result in the town being required to buy those houses at pre turbine market values due to them being uninhabitable. A number of wind farms in the US and UK have had to do just that. The standards on affected houses are in a state of flux. The potential for the rules to change, as more is learned about the harmful noise they generate, is real.  Again resulting in more costs in the future. Well positioned wind farms are many miles from homes, thereby lowering the risk of these after the fact costs. European standards for noise and distance are more conservative than ours . DeKalb County, Fl negotiated a property value guarantee within 1.5 to .75 of a mile to a turbine. There are numerous houses within that 1.5 miles of the turbine.

3) Is the town insured against known industrial accidents that occur with large wind towers: oil leaking into parkland, tower collapse, workman or bystander death, blade detachment in a severe storm and resulting lawsuits? This tower will be in a park, not a protected industrial complex, like Falmouth.

4) There is financial risk from multiple lawsuits on behalf of various parties that prove the wind turbine is harmful to animals or humans. Endangered species are already being harmed by similar turbines as well as animal habitat being altered. Large lawsuits have been won against companies knowingly harming endangered or migratory birds.  A spinning blade at 138 mph invites problems. Altamont, CA has been sued by the Audubon Society and has to turn off certain turbines permanently and not run others during migrations. This would drastically affect the projected financials resulting in the town losing money each month.

5) What if removal of the tower is required before the original financing is paid off…would the town be liable to pay the remainder ‘out of pocket’? It is potentially an $8 million cost to the town, though some government subsidies may be available.

6) Wellfleet is prohibited from selling it to a private operator, because of its location in the NATIONAL SEASHORE.  If the need arises to cash in this power plant, the town cannot sell to another operator under Seashore rules.

7) Can it be insured against all potential calamities or acts of God (lightening, hurricane, self destruction, etc)

This would be Wellfleet’s biggest and riskiest investment in an industry in its infancy. Schools, roads, fire stations, etc don’t exhibit this risk profile.

9) Removal costs? It is inconceivable that a turbine could be put in a National Park with no requirement to remove it, once its life is over. In the pursuit of a better world, could we just leave it there?  What would that say about the agenda being followed. Many wind farms are finding the removal costs are greater than anticipated.  We need a concrete guaranteed plan with costs for complete removal.

NIMBY

There is a question of whether this is just disgruntled people complaining they don’t want this tower in their back yard. There are numerous articles showing the harmful effects of these wind turbines and just because people complain, doesn’t mean the harm should be ignored. Would you expect your town to protect you from loud 24 hour parties with thumping noise in your backyard? Do you expect a certain level of neighborly respect? Many countries have already instituted a minimum setback of 1.25 miles(2km). Just because you can, do you harm others?

1) The noise from a Vestas V-82 400 wind turbine with a wind of 13.5 mph is 102 dBa. A helicopter is only 100 dB. The noise will saturate the area up to 24 hours a day, for weeks at a time. In rural areas, such as Ocean View Drive, there may not be much background noise to drown that out. There are not even trees to generate wind noise to mask the turbine noise. Another maddening aspect is that this noise is low frequency and is described as “getting into your bones”. The noise carries great distances and really affects people's sleep and daily enjoyment. Do you wish that on other people?

2) Light flicker is the shadow of the blades passing infront of the sun with you getting alternating sun & shade over and over. The strobing on and off of the sun is equal to turning the lights on and off in your house. The WEC admits that houses will be subjected to this, but never the less, this project is pushing ahead…knowing that citizens of Wellfleet will be disturbed by this.

3) Wind Turbines interrupt Doppler radar, endangering the wind turbine area. NOAA notes, WTC(wind turbine clutter) can have negative impacts on radar capabilities and products (radar imagery) over and near the wind energy facility. This reduction of useable radar data can also impact weather forecast and warning operations, DoD military operations, and FAA air traffic routing operations.

The officials saying they don't make noise or it is only 10 TIMES LOUDER than normal, they will blend in, not kill birds or disturb animals. There are thousands of articles and videos from real people about their negative experiences. Can so many, be so wrong? When they are placed closer than a couple of miles, the distressing stories are always the same.

If you look at one thing on this website look at Hard Lesson in Vinalhaven, ME or Heart Wrenching in Ontario, Canada

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed a bill authorizing the establishment of Cape Cod National Seashore.  A long-time summer resident of the Cape, J.F.K. had co-sponsored the legislation while in the Senate. The goal, he wrote, was "to preserve the natural and historic values of a portion of Cape Cod for the inspiration and enjoyment of people all over the United States."

Anonymous

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