Public Service Board holds hearings on wind sound rules that would be lowest in nation 

If the new rules move forward as written, Vermont would have the lowest noise standards in the country for wind turbines.

Ambrose said Vermont’s proposed sound rules would go a long way to protect human health, and he spent about 30 minutes tearing apart how other sound studies measure decibel levels.

Ambrose was there to support Vermonters for a Clean Environment, a group that opposes industrial wind development.

The group’s director, Annette Smith, said that while Vermont has been moving aggressively on supporting renewable energy, the state has not taken the time to really understand how turbine noise impacts people who live nearby.

“We are strong supporters of renewable energy, and want to see the renewable energy business succeed,” said Smith. “We believe that what has happened in recent years has actually caused more opposition because we have not addressed the noise issues in an effective way.”

The board is writing the new rules following a 2016 law that was passed to set consistent sound standards for wind development, as the state tries to reach its goal of achieving 90 percent of its power from renewable energy by 2050.

But Sarah Wolfe, who works for VPIRG, says these rules would make it much harder for developers to find suitable sites.

“Taking a critical renewable energy source off the table right now – which, to be clear, we think this decibel will do – means that we’re inherently encouraging new fossil fuel generation,” Wolfe said.

The new rules would set up setback limits that Wolfe said would effectively stop industrial wind developments.

And while she acknowledged that some people who live nearby wind turbines notice low-level sound waves, Wolfe says there are no studies that show that turbine noise, at the proposed standards, impact public health.

“So what we’re talking about is more of an aesthetic- or annoyance-based decision,” she said. “It’s clear that there is some level of annoyance from wind turbine sound. But the number of respondents who said that they were annoyed was a small minority of the respondents, and by the same token it couldn’t be characterized as a substantial interference with a normal person’s enjoyment of their property .”

The Public Service Board also held meetings in Bennington, Lowell and Montpelier to hear from the public.

Aaron Kisicki is a staff attorney with the Public Service Department, which represents all Vermonters in the rulemaking proceedings. He says the department does have some questions about how the board developed its proposed standards.

“We want to insure that ultimately that the sound rule creates sound limits that are responsible, and that are appropriate for Vermont,” Kisicki said. “A lot of new issues are being raised as part of this workshop, and that will help inform our ultimate position with respect to the rule. And we’ll certainly take these issues into account as we prepare our final comments for the board’s consideration.”

The Public Service Board expects to take the input from these meetings and file its final rules with the Secretary of State and the Legislature on May 16.