Against the wind

In Fenner wind farm developers made and broke many promises

Pastor Kathleen Danley, Naples Record, November 3, 2004

[Reprinted with permission from Pastor Danley, this letter concerns 1.5 MW turbines, the same size as those proposed in the Berkshires.]

______________________________________________________

To the Editor:

My husband and I own a home in the township of Fenner, New York, and it is located in the middle of the Madison wind farm. I am not, and never have been, against wind power, but I want people to be well aware of the negative side of these giant windmills before allowing them to be built in your neighborhoods.

We have always believed that our neighbors had the right to use their property as they feel appropriate. In fact, we were even somewhat supportive of the project in our area. Our home also sits well away from the setback distances called for by zoning.

Unfortunately, we were not given all of the facts, or we were given somewhat twisted information. We were told that the windmills had been redesigned so as not to be noisy, but the grinding noise goes on 24 hours a day (when they are operating) and at times is far worse than other times.

From our bedroom window we can see no fewer than five towers and from the living room another two. On a stormy night the wind howls through our bedroom like a freight train -- yes, I know, the blades stop when the wind reaches a certain velocity, but nevertheless, they don't magically disappear. The wind continues to hit them, greatly increasing the sound that travels over them. In the middle of the summer we cannot enjoy our yard or have the windows open because these machines constantly grind and have a negative effect on one's nerves. When at the house I find that my nerves are constantly on edge.

We also have lost our television reception and were forced to purchase a satellite dish. Prior to the towers we always had very good reception of the local stations and generally had two to three more. Now it is impossible to get any of those stations. Incidentally, there is no cable in our area. The wind tower builders/management have more than once promised to look into this situation but have done nothing. They do not answer phone calls or follow up on appointments that they make with us.

Out of necessity to aviation there are lights on top of the towers, which now flash directly into our bedroom and living room windows all through the night necessitating the closing of the blinds and robbing us of the view of our own backyard and God's gift of nature -- one of the main reasons we moved to the country in the first place.

Should your area decide to go ahead with the projects, I would suggest that cell phone towers be built into the towers. This was not done in our area and there is terrible cell phone coverage. To increase the coverage more towers now need to be built and I don't see that happening any time soon.

I have also found that the discussion to have or not have wind towers in a neighborhood has pitted neighbor against neighbor in some cases and long friendships have struggled. I find this to be very sad and a huge detriment.

The wind farm in our home area has also brought much traffic to the area that we never had to deal with in the past. Drivers stop and gawk in the middle of the road becoming a hazard to those who simply want to get to work or possibly to a store or doctor appointment, etc.

Promises have been made and broken over and over again, and I find that also to be an extremely sad situation.

I pray that you can find a way to work through many of the issues without having such a huge impact on those living nearby.

Pastor Kathleen Danley, Fenner NY