LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Wildlife, noise studies discussed at Roxbury wind-power meeting 

About 70 people attended Independence Wind LLC’s presentation Tuesday night at the Roxbury town office on new information about their proposed Record Hill Wind wind-power project.

By 8:30 p.m. – two-hours into the presentation – the meeting was still going on, with Resource Systems Engineering founder and president, engineer Charles F. Wallace Jr. answering questions about perceived noise problems from a project that has yet to be built.

Record Hill Wind principals have yet to even choose a wind turbine model, several of which will be placed atop Record Hill in Roxbury if residents in the future OK a land-use ordinance change permitting wind power facilities.

The project is also contingent on approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

During the meeting, senior scientist Steve Pelletier of Stantec Consulting Services Inc. of Portland, a firm hired by Record Hill Wind, spoke at length about Record Hill’s pre-construction wildlife studies.

Pelletier said they had completed a year’s worth of wildlife data and two seasons worth of bat and bird data, all of which indicated to them that by adding wind turbines to Record Hill, it won’t have any significant effect on area wildlife.

Several residents in the crowd, however, thought differently and peppered Pelletier with questions regarding deer, and bird migration.

One woman said that her family lives off meat which her husband legally hunts and kills and they are worried that turbines and work to construct them will frighten away big-game animals.

“The deer are not going to be leaving,” Pelletier said. “There’s no reason for them to leave.”

In response to another question regarding bear, Pelletier said they didn’t do any studies on black bears, but he expects said animals to remain in the area despite the possible presence of wind power facilities.

Others asked for hard copies of the data, which Gardiner said would be available when it becomes public through the DEP review process.

Gardiner also said that migrating birds won’t be affected by wind turbines because they migrate at higher elevations than the turbines will be erected.

Regarding noise levels, Wallace said his firm can’t precisely determine the decibel level range to be produced by wind turbines, because Record Hill has yet to decide which turbines to use.

However, he did present a map of the turbine locations showing the decibel range of the “biggest and baddest” wind power turbines. That map delineated a range of 1,800 feet from the turbines outward within which the noise generated downwind would be 55 decibels. The second delineation measured 45 decibels out to a maximum limit of 4,000 feet, plus or minus depending on terrain.

When asked, he also estimated that the decibel level 7,000 feet away at the eastern shore of Roxbury Pond would be about 39 decibels.

In a June 9 letter to Roxbury residents, Independence Wind principals Angus King and Rob Gardiner stated that they would be providing greater quantities of information about the project during upcoming meetings and planning board hearings on revisions to the town’s land-use ordinance.

On June 17, a majority of Roxbury residents OK’d enacting a six-month moratorium on wind power projects, retroactive to March 3, to give residents time to learn all about the project and issues before voting on whether or not to allow such facilities in Roxbury.

By Terry Karkos
Staff Writer

Lewiston Sun Journal

25 June 2008

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon