Citizens Wind Watch of Barrington Needs Your Help
STOP the Town Council from prematurely approving an expenditure of $2.4 million of taxpayer money for a wind turbine based on inaccurate, misleading and unsubstantiated findings
Fact 1: On June 7, 2007, the Barrington Exploratory Wind Power Committee recommended 7 initial steps the Town should take to determine if a wind turbine should be considered. They determined - The most crucial step to be… “Obtaining accurate wind data”.
http://www.barringtonenergy.com/files/reports/Recommendations_to_Town_Council_for_Outreach.3.pdf
As of September 15, 2008, the Committee for Renewable Energy in Barrington (CREB) has stated they do not feel wind studies are necessary for any site within the Town. Of the remaining 6 steps presented, the Town failed to complete; conducting Energy Audits on all owned properties, investigating aggregation opportunities with East Bay communities, obtaining the services of a skilled, professional energy consultant, and have not completed education and outreach efforts.
Fact 2: The CREB was created by the Town Council to investigate all renewable energy options available.
However, as soon as the Town received notice that we were approved for the zero interest LOAN from the IRS, the CREB’s charge has been to plow ahead with plans for a turbine. The tunnel vision exhibited by the CREB has ignored any challenge or objection presented with the sole intent of utilizing this funding source. They have lost sight of what their true mandate was. Every document produced by the CREB appears biased and self-serving in favor of a wind turbine without regard for community impact.
http://www.barringtonenergy.com/future_projects
Fact 3: No external, third party professional reports, environmental impact, noise, economic, or health and safety, have been contracted or presented to the community.
www.windaction.org/faqs/16499
Current potential sites range from our High School to environmentally sensitive areas around Town. One site listed as “The Legion Way site” is really the Brickyard Pond Conservation Area. A portion of the site is a capped land fill that was used by our DPW and the Newth Rubber Company until the 1950’s. Since then, this site has blossomed into a habitat for wildlife including water fowl, birds of prey, fish and woodland animals. However, the pond is still stressed with low oxygen and poor water quality.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/R1/npl_pad.nsf/f52fa5c31fa8f5c885256adc0050b631/B9F1A8850271A2F585256B42006067C3
Fact 4: The presented economic and financial analysis has not been validated for accuracy by any un-affiliated, non-biased third party experts.
Fact 5: CREB states that at the Brickyard Pond Site, outdoor noise at the nearest home will be 41 dBA, resulting in sound levels that are well within World Health Organization (WHO) standards both for day and night.
CREB does not cite known research which quotes the WHO stating “sound levels during nighttime and late evening hours should be less than 30 dBA during sleeping periods to protect children’s health. “When sound levels are 45 dBA outside a home, we expect that the interior sound levels will not drop to the 30 dBA level needed in sleeping areas. This is because the low frequency content of the noise can penetrate the homes walls and roof with little power reduction.”
Another study referenced found some residents living 1.86 miles from a wind farm complain of sleep disturbance from the noise. Many residents living 984 feet from the wind farms experience major sleep disruption and other serious medical problems.
http://www.windaction.org/documents/17229
For more information, please go to http://www.citizenswindwatch.blogspot.com/ or http://www.windaction.org/
STOP the Town Council from prematurely approving an expenditure of $2.4 million of taxpayer money for a wind turbine based on inaccurate, misleading and unsubstantiated findings
Fact 1: On June 7, 2007, the Barrington Exploratory Wind Power Committee recommended 7 initial steps the Town should take to determine if a wind turbine should be considered. They determined - The most crucial step to be… “Obtaining accurate wind data”.
http://www.barringtonenergy.com/files/reports/Recommendations_to_Town_Council_for_Outreach.3.pdf
As of September 15, 2008, the Committee for Renewable Energy in Barrington (CREB) has stated they do not feel wind studies are necessary for any site within the Town. Of the remaining 6 steps presented, the Town failed to complete; conducting Energy Audits on all owned properties, investigating aggregation opportunities with East Bay communities, obtaining the services of a skilled, professional energy consultant, and have not completed education and outreach efforts.
Fact 2: The CREB was created by the Town Council to investigate all renewable energy options available.
However, as soon as the Town received notice that we were approved for the zero interest LOAN from the IRS, the CREB’s charge has been to plow ahead with plans for a turbine. The tunnel vision exhibited by the CREB has ignored any challenge or objection presented with the sole intent of utilizing this funding source. They have lost sight of what their true mandate was. Every document produced by the CREB appears biased and self-serving in favor of a wind turbine without regard for community impact.
http://www.barringtonenergy.com/future_projects
Fact 3: No external, third party professional reports, environmental impact, noise, economic, or health and safety, have been contracted or presented to the community.
www.windaction.org/faqs/16499
Current potential sites range from our High School to environmentally sensitive areas around Town. One site listed as “The Legion Way site” is really the Brickyard Pond Conservation Area. A portion of the site is a capped land fill that was used by our DPW and the Newth Rubber Company until the 1950’s. Since then, this site has blossomed into a habitat for wildlife including water fowl, birds of prey, fish and woodland animals. However, the pond is still stressed with low oxygen and poor water quality.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/R1/npl_pad.nsf/f52fa5c31fa8f5c885256adc0050b631/B9F1A8850271A2F585256B42006067C3
Fact 4: The presented economic and financial analysis has not been validated for accuracy by any un-affiliated, non-biased third party experts.
Fact 5: CREB states that at the Brickyard Pond Site, outdoor noise at the nearest home will be 41 dBA, resulting in sound levels that are well within World Health Organization (WHO) standards both for day and night.
CREB does not cite known research which quotes the WHO stating “sound levels during nighttime and late evening hours should be less than 30 dBA during sleeping periods to protect children’s health. “When sound levels are 45 dBA outside a home, we expect that the interior sound levels will not drop to the 30 dBA level needed in sleeping areas. This is because the low frequency content of the noise can penetrate the homes walls and roof with little power reduction.”
Another study referenced found some residents living 1.86 miles from a wind farm complain of sleep disturbance from the noise. Many residents living 984 feet from the wind farms experience major sleep disruption and other serious medical problems.
http://www.windaction.org/documents/17229
For more information, please go to http://www.citizenswindwatch.blogspot.com/ or http://www.windaction.org/
