By J. Michael Whalen
Times Staff
2/11/10
Since then, the Wind Energy Committee, which is chaired by Richard Kleiman, has worked through permitting processes to gain state and federal approval for the turbine site due to a nearby archeological site and wetlands areas. The Warrant Committee and Selectmen also have given the plan their support. The $6.2 million project, which recently received a state grant of $399,000, still requires a special permit from the Planning Board and bond approval from Special Town Meeting.
Quarry Hill Partners first publicly raised questions about the project last fall.
Last week, Geilich said the company’s two primary concerns now are what he called the town’s “top-down approach” to the project – deciding upon a solution without fully defining a problem – and the fact that the golf course is the closest abutter to the site.
Similar projects in Mars Hill and Vinylhaven, both in Maine, and in Fond du Lac, Wisc., have caused problems for residents. Geilich said in Mars Hill, for example, locals have complained of nausea and dizziness caused by a turbine’s presence. Materials e-mailed to the Times by Geilich back up those claims.
He said noise levels of 45 decibels or higher are known to disrupt sleep patterns, and that some turbines can generate as much as 75 or 80 decibels.
In an e-mailed response, Kleiman said the feasibility study found that levels from the Milton turbine “would not exceed 40 decibels at the nearest residence and almost all of the golf course, which is similar to the background sound found in a typical home.”
Geilich charged that the giant turbine would destroy the “beautiful vistas” enjoyed by patrons of the 27-hole golf course and its restaurant, the Tavern at Quarry Hills. Its very presence will “destroy” the ambience of the setting, he said, while the noise, flicker and shadow it generates will be a distraction for golfers.
Kleiman responded by saying a radio tower directly next to the Granite Links Clubhouse “hasn’t seemed to deter people from golfing and dining there,” despite the fact that it’s about as tall as the 790-foot-tall John Hancock Tower in Boston.
He added that the turbine tower “will be approximately 328 feet, and the blades will be 130 feet long and relatively narrow.”
He added, “We have moved the site [farther] south to minimize potential impacts from shadow, flicker and noise. The state’s feasibility study found that only portions of two golf holes on the golf course would be marginally affected by shadow and flicker for several hours at the very beginning and end of the golfing season. Milton has offered to turn off the turbine during those hours.”
Geilich said his company appreciates that offer but he expressed concern that such action would subtract further from any financial benefit to the town.
He also raised concerns about the wind speeds at the proposed turbine site, noting that the feasibility study’s executive summary uses the word “adequate” to describe them. (The summary and the full study can be viewed at www.townofmilton.org.) He said the ideal place for the structure would be on top of the ridge at the Blue Hills, not the proposed location.
“The state’s feasibility study found excellent wind conditions at the Milton site,” said Kleiman. “In general, the state considers any wind speeds about 6.0 meters per second (m/s) to be sufficient for wind energy projects. The feasibility study found an average wind speed of 6.33 m/s at the Milton site using a 100-meter tower.”
Regarding the financial savings to which Geilich alluded, he said, “The turbine will generate revenues of over $800,000 per year, out of which the debt service on the bonds will be paid, as well as maintenance costs. The town will net in excess of $200,000 in the first year of operation, increasing to over $1 million per year in the later years of operation.”
Kleiman said the town is disappointed by the golf course owners’ stance. “It seems particularly unfortunate that the owners of the golf course … would attempt to deny the town of Milton its right to construct a wind turbine on town-owned land and its right to receive the badly needed revenues the turbine would produce,” he said. “Those revenues are substantial and would help the town defray the costs of fire, police, public works, education and other core services.”
Geilich, however, believes the process has been hurried and, considering the problems experienced in other states, should be slowed down in order to conduct further analysis.
“And I want to stress that we’re very much in favor of alternate energy. But there’s a place for it, and it’s not [the proposed site].”