"Selectman Donna Hebert said she had seen many wind farms in other parts of the world and country.
“There's not a lot of noise and no illness. I don't see anything wrong with them. Anything to cut the electric bill,” she said."
Come on Ms Hebert! You don't have to leave the state to see the problems with wind turbines. Mars Hill...,huge problem with noise. In fact the problem is so bad the DEP had to give the turbine company a 5 decible variance before they were even built. In fact a bunch of families are suing the town and the wind company.
Freedom...huge problem with noise and flicker. But because the project is small (three turbines) Patriot Renewables can get away with it.
Vinalhaven...huge problem with noise. In fact the state agrees that they are out of compliance, but hasn't done anything about it yet.
You don't have to travel around the world to see that there are plenty of problems every where you go. But if you want to travel, try Denmark, one of the most turbine infested countries in the world. Recently Denmark banned all new land based wind power projects because of its citizens objections to the noise and loss of property values near wind farms.
Will there be turbines near you Ms Hebert? You'd better hope not.
As far as your electric bill goes...the more turbines we put in, the higher our electric bills are going. Please, please do a little research, Ms Hebert.
"However, Selectmen Mark Belanger, Jeff Sterling and Chairman Brad Adley said they want to better understand noise decibels, and what sounds they can expect to hear from turbine-topped ridges under a variety of atmospheric conditions."
Understand this, Selectmen, every place the turbines have been built, they are out of compliance with the very generous 45 decibel (nighttime limit) the turbines have been given by the DEP. Mars Hill was so bad the state granted a 5 decibel variance before they were even built. Vinalhaven residents had to spend large amounts of their own money to buy the scientific equipment to prove to the DEP the three turbine project was out of compliance (the DEP acknowledges the turbines are out of compliance, but has not taken any action to rectify the situation). Freedom's three turbine project is out of compliance, but because there are only three turbines, they somehow get a free pass.
The moral of the story is…don’t look to the DEP for help policing the noise from the turbines. I guess you’ll have to tell those people in your town affected to buy their own equipment and get trained on how to measure decibels!
The only safe way to protect your citizens is to enact at least a one mile noise setback.
As to the Bethel Ordinance increasing the decibel level from 55 to 65 (which I find unbelievable in the first place), I just called the Bethel Town Office to see if I could get a copy and was told it wasn’t available yet.
The whole wind power idea is such a taxpayer and rate payer scam. I’m particularly bothered by the TIFs. It’s the last insult thrown in the face of Mainers (just before they build the turbines, the ultimate insult).
A. TIFs were invented as a way to lure businesses that created good paying jobs to your area. But since the wind companies create so few permanent jobs, granting TIFs to wind companies is a joke.
B. If you look at Kibby’s TIF, Franklin County kept $4,000,000 of TIF money for economic development and gave almost $9,000,000 back to Trans Canada (over 20 years). This $9,000,000 gift, which Trans Canada failed to pay in taxes, has to be made up for by you and me and a lot of other Maine taxpayers. Correct me if I’m wrong, but why shouldn’t Franklin County keep the whole $13,000,000 and then just budget a few million for economic development. Franklin County would be way ahead of the game.
C. If your town or UT wants to understand what a TIF is all about, the wind companies will generously offer to pay for a law firm to “help” you understand what a TIF is all about and what a wonderful benefit it is for your town. That law firm is Eaton Peabody from Bangor. They have “helped” a lot of towns negotiate a TIF with the wind companies (while being paid with wind company money). Believe me, Eaton Peabody never forgets who is writing their paychecks!
D. Another part of the wind companies TIF that bugs the heck out of me is the fact that the turbines are depreciated 4% per year. In the Kibby TIF, allowing the 4% depreciation costs Franklin County another $13,367,559 over 20 years. Sweet deal for Trans Canada! Mars Hill was the first TIF negotiated and there was no depreciation allowed! None! Eaton Peabody slipped 2% into the Rollins project by First Wind. Now Eaton Peabody and their greedy masters have slipped 4% depreciation into all the recent TIF agreements.
You are right. We just need to say no to TIFs. What I can't understand is why more towns don't say no. The only wind project in the state where the people said no was in Freedom and that was a project by Patriot Renewables with three turbines.
So if there is next to zero tax relief under regular taxation, and absolutely no tax relief with a TIF, and they create so few jobs and cause so many problems with their noise and loss of property values near them, why would any town let them in? Other than benefit some lease holders on top of the hills, I can't for the life of me explain it.
Let’s say Patriot Renewables gets to put up 13 turbines in Dixfield (about a $39,000,000. investment). If they actually intended to pay the current tax rate of 16.75 mills on their investment, they would pay the town about $653,250,000. per year in taxes. Sounds pretty good, right? Wouldn’t people’s tax bills go down in Dixfield? The answer is yes, but only by a very tiny amount.
What people forget is that a town’s school and county appropriation is driven by the town’s total value. Dixfield’s value right now is about $147,250,000 and if you drive that up by $39,000,000., then your county tax and school tax increases eat up any tax relief. Of course the other towns in the school district don’t mind a bit, because any increase in Dixfield’s share of the school and county budgets means a small decrease in their county and school taxes.
Even in small towns where the turbine project doubles the town’s value, the tax relief was only about $120. per $150,000. of valuation. The figures I just quoted were done by the State of Maine’s Municipal Revenue Division. Let’s face it, if you think the turbine project will reduce your taxes in Dixfield, you’ve got another think coming!
But Patriot Renewables has absolutely no intention of paying their fair share. If they get their way, they are going to ask for a TIF. So instead of paying the town $653,250. per year, they are only going to pay the town about $195,975 per year (30%) and put the other $457,275 (70%) back in their pocket. Of course you might get a little more by driving a hard bargain with Patriot Renewable’s legal team (Eaton Peabody), but don’t count on it. And to add insult to injury, Patriot Renewables gets to depreciate the turbines by 2-3% per year by claiming them as personal property. Sweet deal for Patriot Renewables, huh! (Not so hot for Dixfield.)
That $195,975 the town receives cannot be used for tax relief, either. It can only be used for “economic development” within the TIF district. No swimming pools and no ball parks for the kids either. Most towns reconstruct a few miles of roads at $250,000 per mile (again the roads have to be within the TIF district), hire an economic development director, and spend a fair amount ($97,000 in Burlington’s case) on yearly lawyer fees to administer the TIF. Lincoln is going to buy a building, tear it down and put up a parking lot…cost, $1,000,000. The state has to approve everything, too.
Some towns use a portion of the TIF funds to promote tourism. That’s kind of a joke isn’t it? They just covered their hills with turbines, so how are they going to promote tourism?
The TIF would be worth it if the project created enough good paying jobs, but the average is one good paying permanent job for every 6 to10 turbines. And as Patriot Renewables gets more projects across Maine, I see them centralizing repair work and keeping a skeleton crew in places like Dixfield. Vote yes on the ordinance...it's the right thing to do.
By Question Everything, unverified — Thu, 10/28/2010 - 09:14
Let us not forget that Eaton Peabody is the law firm that wrote the TIF proposals for Stetson, Lincoln, Lee, Winn, Burlington, Oakfield and who knows how many other First Wind projects. Never forget they work for the Wind Companies (the people paying their salaries), not for the townspeople.
I guarantee Patriot Renewables will be pushing hard for a TIF. With a TIF, Patriot Renewables will be giving the town about 30-40% of the taxes they should have paid, and putting the rest, about 60-70% back in their pockets. They are allowed to depreciate the turbines (as personal property) between 2-3% per year too. Another loss for the town! No tax relief for the citizens either way!
Here is another little problem that keeps cropping up with first Wind projects.
They tell you that they are going to put in 12 turbines and then later you learn that the 12 turbines was “Phase One”. “Phase Two” is another 6-10 or 12 turbines. It’s happening in Oakfield.
First Wind tells you that they are going to use one type of turbine and later you learn that they changed their mind and are now going to use a taller (louder) turbine. It’s happening in Oakfield.
What can you do about it if you vote down this ordinance? Absolutely nothing!
A couple of corrections to the article.
$60,000,000 is the total project, but only 12 of the turbines will be in Rumford (see below).
“Pretty much, it's a tax shelter,” Puiia said. “Because they're making an investment of capital into your community, you're giving them somewhat of a tax break.” Somewhat of a tax break? Rumford will giving them a 60 to 70% tax break (see below)!
“A TIF would bring yearly savings to taxpayers “if we're not asking our citizens for money for economic development,” Puiia said.” When times are tough, Rumford doesn’t ask its citizens for “extra” money for economic development. Anybody know how much was in this year’s budget for economic development? Probably none. So there is no tax savings if the project is TIF’d.
“Plus, if you took the $564,000, you could create an economic development department or you create a district that could attract potentially more jobs.” The $564,000 is the figure for Somerset County, not Rumford! (see below)
“At the River Valley Growth Council meeting on Oct. 6, a First Wind official indicated the company would likely seek a TIF, estimating a first-year payment of $564,000, Puiia said. That amount increases incrementally each successive year.” The amount decreases incrementally each year because the wind company gets to depreciate the turbines 2-3% each year as personal property!
Original Post
First Wind keeps talking about the $60,000.000 investment in Rumford, but 7 of those turbines will be in Roxbury. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that means only about 37,000,000 will be invested in Rumford. If they actually intended to pay the current tax rate of 24 mills on their investment, they would pay the town about $888,000. per year. Sounds pretty good, right? Wouldn’t people’s tax bills go down in Rumford? The answer is yes, but only by a very tiny amount. What people forget is that a town’s school and county appropriation is driven by the town’s total value. Rumford’s value right now is about $734,000,000 and if you drive that up by $37,000,000 (which is only about 5%), then your county tax and school tax increases eat up any tax relief. Of course the other towns in the school district don’t mind a bit, because any increase in Rumford’s share of the school and county budgets means a small decrease in their county and school taxes.
Even in small towns where the turbine project doubles the town’s value, the tax relief was only about $120. per $100,000. of valuation. The figures I just quoted were done by the State of Maine’s Municipal Revenue Division. Let’s face it, if you think the turbine project will reduce your taxes in Rumford, you’ve got another think coming!
But First Wind has absolutely no intention of paying their fair share. If the ordinance is voted down, and they get their way, they are going to ask for a TIF. So instead of paying the town $888,000 per year, they are only going to pay the town $266,000 and put the other $622,000 back in their pocket. And to add insult to injury, First Wind gets to depreciate the turbines by 2-3% per year by claiming them as personal property. Sweet deal for First Wind, huh! (Not so hot for Rumford.)
That $266,000 the town receives cannot be used for tax relief, either. It can only be used for “economic development” within the TIF district. No swimming pools and no ball parks for the kids either. Most towns reconstruct a few miles of roads at $250,000 per mile, hire an economic development director, and spend a fair amount on yearly lawyer fees to administer the TIF. Lincoln is going to buy a building, tear it down and put up a parking lot…cost, $1,000,000 The state has to approve everything, too.
Some towns use a portion of the TIF funds to promote tourism. That’s kind of a joke isn’t it? They just covered their hills with turbines, so how are they going to promote tourism?
The TIF would be worth it if the project created enough good paying jobs, but the average is one good paying permanent job for every 6 to10 turbines. And as First Wind gets more projects across Maine, I see them centralizing repair work and keeping a skeleton crew in places like Rumford.
Vote to protect your neighbors, wind turbines are just not worth it.
Rumford should have contacted the State of Maine's Municipal Revenue Service for the truth a long time ago. You'll be lucky to get $10.00 per each $100,000 of your valuation off your taxes. Great , huh? A real "Wind Fall". And there has never been a wind project done in this state without a TIF, except for the three turbine project in Freedom.
As far as making the turbines a tourist attraction...good luck with that!
First Wind keeps talking about the $60,000.000 investment in Rumford, but 7 of those turbines will be in Roxbury. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that means only about 37,000,000 will be invested in Rumford. If they actually intended to pay the current tax rate of 24 mills on their investment, they would pay the town about $888,000. per year. Sounds pretty good, right? Wouldn’t people’s tax bills go down in Rumford? The answer is yes, but only by a very tiny amount. What people forget is that a town’s school and county appropriation is driven by the town’s total value. Rumford’s value right now is about $734,000,000 and if you drive that up by $37,000,000 (which is only about 5%), then your county tax and school tax increases eat up any tax relief. Of course the other towns in the school district don’t mind a bit, because any increase in Rumford’s share of the school and county budgets means a small decrease in their county and school taxes.
Even in small towns where the turbine project doubles the town’s value, the tax relief was only about $120. per $100,000. of valuation. The figures I just quoted were done by the State of Maine’s Municipal Revenue Division. Let’s face it, if you think the turbine project will reduce your taxes in Rumford, you’ve got another think coming!
But First Wind has absolutely no intention of paying their fair share. If the ordinance is voted down, and they get their way, they are going to ask for a TIF. So instead of paying the town $888,000 per year, they are only going to pay the town $266,000 and put the other $622,000 back in their pocket. And to add insult to injury, First Wind gets to depreciate the turbines by 2-3% per year by claiming them as personal property. Sweet deal for First Wind, huh! (Not so hot for Rumford.)
That $266,000 the town receives cannot be used for tax relief, either. It can only be used for “economic development” within the TIF district. No swimming pools and no ball parks for the kids either. Most towns reconstruct a few miles of roads at $150,000 per mile, hire an economic development director, and spend a fair amount on yearly lawyer fees to administer the TIF. Lincoln is going to buy a building, tear it down and put up a parking lot…cost, $1,000,000 The state has to approve everything, too.
Some towns use a portion of the TIF funds to promote tourism. That’s kind of a joke isn’t it? They just covered their hills with turbines, so how are they going to promote tourism?
The TIF would be worth it if the project created enough good paying jobs, but the average is one good paying permanent job for every 6 to10 turbines. And as First Wind gets more projects across Maine, I see them centralizing repair work and keeping a skeleton crew in places like Rumford.
Vote to protect your neighbors, wind turbines are just not worth it.
Maine can learn a lot from Denmark. The Danes are the world leaders in wind power, the inventors of the wind farm and the home of Vestas, the number one manufacturer of wind turbines. The Danes have more turbines per capita than anywhere else in the world. While some say the turbines produce 17% of the total energy the Danes use, it turns out that the sporadic and volatile nature of wind energy is very hard to use. Much of it is sold to Germany, Norway and Sweden at huge losses.
Where the Danes go, the world of wind power follows. The Danes made big news recently because of two major decisions. They first slashed subsidies to the wind industry. Second, they banned all new land based wind farms due to public anger over noise and loss of property values near turbines.
It doesn’t matter whether the Highland project is 48 turbines or 28 or 10. It is still a useless project, designed to make a few wind companies and rich people like King and Gardiner richer still on our tax dollars, while destroying Maine’s pristine wilderness and the lives of people in the area.
Mine should not be a “wind colony” for Southern New England.
The committee's job was to protect the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of Rumford and that's exactly what they did. First Wind's job is to put up turbines anywhere they can, period!
Everyone in Rumford could have gone to the meetings and read the same thousands of pages of noise studies, etc., etc. that the committee did...but most chose not to. Having been there and done that in Jackson, I can say that it was absolutely exhausting. If I had to choose between doing that again or having all my teeth pulled…”Hello Mr. Dentist”. But for anyone who sticks with it till the bitter end, they can reach only one conclusion...turbines do not belong within a mile to a mile and a half of families.
As far as First Wind's offer to "help" draft the ordinance, it would be like having the fox help the farmer design the new chicken coop. Rumford's committee did their homework and did plenty of it, so kudos to them.
Recently Denmark, one of the world’s leaders in wind power, inventors of the “Wind Farm” and home of Vestas, the world’s number one wind turbine manufacturer, made two crucial decisions. First, they slashed subsidies to the wind industry and second, because of public anger over turbine noise and loss of property values near turbines, they banned all new land based wind farms! Now that’s quite a change for a country that has more turbines per capita than anywhere else in the world!
Rumford’s proposed ordinance didn’t even go that far.
By Question Everything, unverified — Tue, 08/31/2010 - 15:28
Dear Common Sense,
I read your comments on sound and I’ve seen your list before (mostly in wind company’s brochures).
Let’s look at a few of them:
Let’s take that mosquito at 20 decibels. If you’re lying in bed, and all is quiet, how long will you listen to that mosquito before it makes you angry enough to get up and squash it like the bug that it is? Not long!
How about the birds? Got any of those within 10 feet of your bed? Even if you’re out side, how long do they keep it up (and how many are within 10 feet of you any way)?
How about that power mower? Do you take that inside with you when your hard day of mowing is done? No, you probably turn it off and put it away. And how big is your yard, anyway? Mow all winter do you? At night?
Tractor? You or your neighbor probably shut it off at some point and retire, right? Do you use it all winter, night after night (you see, turbine noise is usually more intrusive in the winter)?
Shaver? How long does it take to shave?
Train or truck? Got any within 100’ of your house and how many go by in the course of a day/night? Thousands? Do they keep it up 24/7 like a turbine does sometimes?
Your kid’s stereo you should have some control over, hopefully.
Crying baby? Tough luck. Should have thought of that first! But don’t worry; they usually grow out of that (a turbine lasts for twenty years or so).
Is it loud in your factory? Then your employer is probably making you wear ear protection. If he isn’t, then you should take it upon yourself to protect your hearing. And after eight hours or so, you can hang up your ear protection and go home for some well deserved peace and quiet (unless you have a turbine near by).
How about a chain saw? Maybe the old-times didn’t use ear protection (What’s that you say, young fella?), but most of the younger guys I know use ear protection and are relieved when the day is done and they can get some peace and quiet. (You see, Mr. CommonSense, the turbines aren’t shut off when the day is done.)
The problem with the turbines is that they produce high, low and ultra low frequency noise. It is unlike anything you described in your comments. On a quiet night (20 decibels in the country) the rhythmic swoosh, swoosh, swoosh of the turbines at 40-45 decibels can be maddening. On a logarithmic scale (such as decibels) 40 decibels is way more than twice as loud as 20 decibels. Most people say it sounds like a jet in the distance coming towards you but never gets to you. It’s just there for hours and hours on end. Lots of times it’s the last thing you hear at night (and if you can sleep at all) it’s the first thing you hear when you get up. It can go on for days.
Air stratification, which is very common on Maine hills and very uncommon on the Texas plains, causes blade wobble and a low frequency sound known as “blade thump” occurs. This is the noise that penetrates your house’s wall, rattles the dishes and most people who are familiar with this noise say it sounds like “sneakers in the dryer”.
These turbine noises are very different from your list, Mr. CommonSense and the people who live within a mile or two of your proposed turbines are going to let you know that if you put them up. They may even sue your town like they are in Mars Hill. Why are you so eager to let your town become the next Mars Hill, Freedom or Vinalhaven? We’ve listened to the wind company’s propaganda through all of these projects and every time a new project goes in, people have the same noise problems. When are we going to learn that when it comes to turbines, a mile is the minimum setback people need to mitigate the noise issue?
You forgot to mention the classic “It’s no louder than your refrigerator”. But that received so much derision that I don’t think the wind industry is using it anymore.
I want to power my car with clean, renewable hydro power from Quebec and my cost to run it will be $.06 cents per Kwh. I will be able to run my car 24-7.
Your wind turbine powered car is going to cost you $.26 cents per Kwh to run and you will be able to drive it only 30% of the time because that’s all the wind blows. No matter how many new and improved wind turbines you buy, the wind is still only going to blow 30% of the time (unless, of course, you find some way to control the wind and if that happened, I'll buy your car because I'd be scared to death of you).
I also like to operate a few things around the house 100% of the time (call me selfish). I don’t want to wait around till the wind blows. Nor do I want to pay $.26 cents per Kwh for a “fickle trickle” of electricity when I can get the real deal for $.06 cents.
Yes, call me selfish, call me spoiled, but I’ll take my car over yours 24-7. But keep me updated on that control of the wind thing, will you? I could change my mind.
By Question Everything, unverified — Sun, 08/22/2010 - 11:39
Dear Mr. Wilson,
You seem to be lumping anyone who questions the wisdom and logic of bringing a wind farm to their town with those “environmental radicals” who are against nuclear power, hydroelectric power and according to you, everything else that is good and just in this world. I beg to differ. Most of the people who are questioning wind power are like Mr. Greaney, who is but questioning the validity of the promises the wind industry is making.
Those leaders of our state who are for wind power are the same group who has been talking about the manufacturing of the turbines here in Maine. They have been doing that for several years now. Mr. Greaney is right and you are wrong.
Jobs are important and I agree with you in that respect, Mr. Wilson. However, a couple hundred temporary construction jobs for five months or so while the turbines are being constructed don’t have much value to your town. Reed & Reed, Sargent & Sargent, Cianbro and a few other large construction firms may benefit, but when the construction is completed and everyone leaves, your town is left with about one permanent job for every five to six turbines. That’s what Mr. Greaney is talking about.
If you did a little more homework Mr. Wilson, you would learn that making electricity with wind power costs about three times as much as with natural gas and wind power only operates about 25% of the time. Did you know that Maine already makes more electricity than it can use, and 40% of what we make is from renewable sources? The fact is, Mr. Wilson, Maine ratepayers can’t afford the higher electricity rates the turbines will cause.
Do you know, Mr. Wilson, that the only reason the PUC approved the new, 1.5 billion transmission lines, which will raise our already high electricity rates, was to transport the power made by the wind farms down to southern New England. Of course they (our leaders) told us that our lines were old and needed this 1.5 billion dollar improvement for upkeep and only now is the truth coming out.
Have you read any of the letters written by the residents of Mars Hill, Freedom and Vinalhaven who live within a mile of the turbines, Mr. Wilson? No? Well then I suggest you do so. It may interest you to know that many of these same people were for wind power, but that was before they turned the turbines on. It may also interest you to know, Mr. Wilson, that the town of Mars Hill is being sued by these people in six separate lawsuits for the health problems and loss of property values the turbines have caused.
Your “rogue” group that wrote the Rumford Ordinance was charged with protecting the health, welfare, and safety of Rumford’s citizens and that is exactly what they did. Their job was not to write an ordinance for or against wind power, but to protect the people. I can’t help but remember Johnny Cochran’s words in OJ’s trial, “If the glove doesn’t fit, then you cannot convict!” In your world, Mr. Wilson, you would have got a bigger glove, or in Rumford’s case, just re-written the ordinance to make the turbines “fit”. It is becoming more and more obvious around the world that a one mile setback from people’s property and homes is the minimum acceptable setback to protect people from the low and ultra low frequency noise of the turbines (unless of course you live on the other side of town and can’t hear or see them and don’t care about your neighbors).
Mr. Wilson, I hope I’m wrong, but I can’t help but feel from the somewhat shrill tone of your letter, that you have some connection to the wind industry. Do you, or any of your friends or relatives own some of the land on which the turbines may be built? Do you, or any of your friends or relatives, stand to gain monetarily in any way if the turbines come to town? Please tell me I’m wrong. Please.
A sixty-five million increase in Rumford’s tax base is very misleading if the town is going to TIF the project. A TIF means you can’t tax that $65,000,000. A TIF also guarantees that the residents of Rumford will not see their taxes go down because of the wind project…not one dime!
The residents of Rumford are also probably not aware that the other towns in their school district (I assume they're in a district/union) could get together and vote to "not honor" Rumford’s TIF with the wind company. As you are probably aware, a TIF cheats these other towns out of a share of the taxes Rumford would have paid the school district had the project not been TIF’d.
In Jackson, where I live, there was a movement in the other towns in our district (SAD 3) to do just that if we put in turbines and TIF'd the project. Even our selectmen, who were very pro wind, didn't want a TIF for that very reason. In the end, Jackson voted for a “thirteen times turbine height setback” (with mitigation waivers) and has seen no further action by CES (the developers of Freedom’s three turbine project) and who are somehow associated with Patriot Renewables.
If that happened to Rumford, they would be liable for the several hundred thousand dollars their town should have paid the school district each year. Do you suppose the wind company would let them out of their TIF contract? I doubt it. If Rumford couldn’t get out of the TIF, their millrate would skyrocket and stay there for the length of the TIF, normally twenty-two years or more.
TIF's are figured by multiplying the town's present mill rate by the total value of the project. The resulting figure is near what the wind company would have to pay under "regular" taxation. Of course, under “regular” taxation most of that money would be gobbled up by the county and the school system, but a little is left for tax relief in the town, but not much. In Jackson, a ten turbine project would have reduced the taxes on a $150,000 property about $140. per year The State’s Municipal Revenue Division would probably be able to tell Rumford how much tax relief twelve turbines would mean to the tax payers in Rumford, if they didn’t TIF the project
If Rumford decides to go for the TIF, then the negotiations begin with the wind company's lawyers. Eaton Peabody has done all of First Wind’s TIF’s and are very experienced. Most are negotiated so that the town gets 40% of the TIF money and the wind company keeps 60%. Lincoln and Burlington managed to negotiate a 50-50 split. Vinalhaven got 10% and the “for profit” part of Fox Islands Winds kept 90%. All of the wind projects so far in Maine have been TIF'd, except for Freedom's.
TIF's save the wind companies millions in tax dollars over the life of the project. I don’t know what the millrate is in Rumford, but if it was .0200 and project was worth $65,000,000, and the wind company got to put 60% of that figure back in their pocket each year, then the wind company would save about $13,000,000. in the twenty-two year life span of a traditional TIF. Of course the turbines are depreciated as personal property 2% per year, so the town’s share decreases a little every year. It’s no wonder wind companies love TIF’s!
Rumford’s share would have to be spent on “economic development” projects within the TIF district. They couldn’t spend it on a new community center, new town hall, swimming pool, or ball field. Most towns just reconstruct a few miles of road (within the TIF district, of course) at $250,000 per mile and leave it at that. If they can prove to the state that the addition of turbines have caused the need for a new dump truck, fire engine, etc., they might be able to get that purchase approved. A small portion of the TIF proceeds may be used for community wide projects and most towns use this money for granting some scholarships. Of course they always have to set aside a goodly sum to administer and pay the legal fees associated with the TIF.
Towns seem to jump on the TIF's every time, even though a TIF guarantees absolutely no reduction in their taxes. If I lived in Rumford, I’d be looking at everything very, very carefully. And if I lived in one of the other towns in the school district, I’d be watching Rumford very, very carefully too.
The residents of Carthage are propably not aware that the other towns in their school district (I assume they're in a district/union) could get together and vote to "not honor" Carthage's TIF with the wind company. As you are probably aware, a TIF cheats these other towns out of a share of the taxes Carthage would have paid the school district had the project not been TIF’d.
In Jackson, where I live, there was a movement in the other towns in our district (SAD 3) to do just that if we put in turbines and TIF'd the project. Even our selectmen, who were very pro wind, didn't want a TIF for that very reason. In the end, Jackson voted for a “thirteen times turbine height setback” (with mitigation waivers) and has seen no further action by CES (the developers of Freedom’s three turbine project) and who are somehow associated with Patriot Renewables.
If that happened to Carthage, they would be liable for the several hundred thousand dollars their town should have paid the school district each year. Do you suppose the wind company would let them out of their TIF contract? I doubt it. If Carthage couldn’t get out of the TIF, their millrate would skyrocket and stay there for the length of the TIF, normally twenty-two years or more.
TIF's are figured by multiplying the town's present mill rate by the total value of the project. The resulting figure is near what the wind company would have to pay under "regular" taxation. Of course, under “regular” taxation most of that money would be gobbled up by the county and the school system, but a little is left for tax relief in the town, but not much. Mike Rogers would probably be able to tell Carthage how much tax relief twelve turbines would mean to the tax payers in Carthage if they didn’t TIF the project.
If Carthage decides to go for the TIF, then the negotiations begin with the wind company's lawyers. Eaton Peabody has done all of First Wind’s TIF’s and are very experienced. Most are negotiated so that the town gets 40% of the TIF money and the wind company keeps 60%. Lincoln and Burlington managed to negotiate a 50-50 split. Vinalhaven got 10% and the “for profit” part of Fox Islands Winds kept 90%. All of the wind projects so far in Maine have been TIF'd, except for Freedom's.
TIF's save the wind companies millions in tax dollars over the life of the project. I don’t know what the millrate is in Carthage, but if it was .0200 and project was worth $43,000,000, and the wind company got to put 60% of that figure back in their pocket, then the wind company would save $8,000,000+ in the twenty-two year life span of a traditional TIF. Of course the turbines are depreciated as personal property 2% per year, so the town’s share decreases a little every year. It’s no wonder wind companies love TIF’s!
Carthage’s share would have to be spent on “economic development” projects within the TIF district. They couldn’t spend it on a new community center, new town hall, swimming pool, or ball field. Most towns just reconstruct a few miles of road (within the TIF district, of course) at $250,000 per mile and leave it at that. If they can prove to the state that the addition of turbines have caused the need for a new dump truck, fire engine, etc., they might be able to get that purchase approved. A small portion of the TIF proceeds may be used for community wide projects and most towns use this money for granting some scholarships. Of course they always have to set aside a goodly sum to administer and pay the legal fees associated with the TIF. There is a lot more to TIF's than meets the eye.
Towns seem to jump on the TIF's every time, even though a TIF guarantees absolutely no reduction in their taxes. If I lived in Carthage, I’d be voting for a moratorium so people had a chance to slow things down and look at everything very, very carefully. And if I lived in one of the other towns in the school district, I’d be watching Carthage very, very carefully too.
In an interesting report recently out of Colorado, it seems that the more wind farms go on line, the more the coal fired plants pollute.
It works like this: "Integrating erratic and unpredictable wind resources with established coal and natural gas generation resources requires PSCO to cycle its coal and natural gas-fired plants.3 Cycling coal plants to accommodate wind generation makes the plants operate inefficiently, which drives up emissions. Moreover, when they are not operated consistently at their designed temperatures, the variability causes problems with the way they interact with their associated emission control technologies, frequently causing erratic emission behavior that can last for several hours before control is regained. Ironically, using wind to a degree that forces utilities to temporarily reduce their coal generation results in greater SO2, NOX and CO2 than would have occurred if less wind energy were generated and coal generation were not impacted. "
So if the wind farms do not save oil (remember that the US uses very little oil to produce electricity), cause coal fired plants not to be shut down but to pollute more, produce very few permanent jobs for Mainers, and most of the "boutique power" produced is sold out of state to organizations who want to feel good about paying a lot for "Green Power", why are we tearing up miles and miles of our most scenic mountain tops for so little benefit!
Hopefully the Maine Lung Association (and others) will take note.
Turbine noise is a serious concern for those who live within a mile or two of turbines, but obviously not to those who are spending a few minutes walking around the turbines. The wind industry says, "It's no louder than your refrigerator." or "It's no louder than a quiet conversation in your living room." I guess Donna is saying , "It's no louder than your respirator."
The noise is highly variable too. Some of the factors which affect the noise are: wind speed, direction, elevation, and stratification. If you don't live within a mile of turbines, then you really have no idea what you are talking about. If you are interested in getting more information on turbine noise, I'd suggest you contact people who live within a mile of turbines. I'm sure there are plenty of people in Mars Hill, Freedom and Vinalhaven who would love to tell you what it's like.
Recent Comments
Not a lot of Noise!
"Selectman Donna Hebert said she had seen many wind farms in other parts of the world and country.
“There's not a lot of noise and no illness. I don't see anything wrong with them. Anything to cut the electric bill,” she said."
Come on Ms Hebert! You don't have to leave the state to see the problems with wind turbines. Mars Hill...,huge problem with noise. In fact the problem is so bad the DEP had to give the turbine company a 5 decible variance before they were even built. In fact a bunch of families are suing the town and the wind company.
Freedom...huge problem with noise and flicker. But because the project is small (three turbines) Patriot Renewables can get away with it.
Vinalhaven...huge problem with noise. In fact the state agrees that they are out of compliance, but hasn't done anything about it yet.
You don't have to travel around the world to see that there are plenty of problems every where you go. But if you want to travel, try Denmark, one of the most turbine infested countries in the world. Recently Denmark banned all new land based wind power projects because of its citizens objections to the noise and loss of property values near wind farms.
Will there be turbines near you Ms Hebert? You'd better hope not.
As far as your electric bill goes...the more turbines we put in, the higher our electric bills are going. Please, please do a little research, Ms Hebert.
Decibels
"However, Selectmen Mark Belanger, Jeff Sterling and Chairman Brad Adley said they want to better understand noise decibels, and what sounds they can expect to hear from turbine-topped ridges under a variety of atmospheric conditions."
Understand this, Selectmen, every place the turbines have been built, they are out of compliance with the very generous 45 decibel (nighttime limit) the turbines have been given by the DEP. Mars Hill was so bad the state granted a 5 decibel variance before they were even built. Vinalhaven residents had to spend large amounts of their own money to buy the scientific equipment to prove to the DEP the three turbine project was out of compliance (the DEP acknowledges the turbines are out of compliance, but has not taken any action to rectify the situation). Freedom's three turbine project is out of compliance, but because there are only three turbines, they somehow get a free pass.
The moral of the story is…don’t look to the DEP for help policing the noise from the turbines. I guess you’ll have to tell those people in your town affected to buy their own equipment and get trained on how to measure decibels!
The only safe way to protect your citizens is to enact at least a one mile noise setback.
As to the Bethel Ordinance increasing the decibel level from 55 to 65 (which I find unbelievable in the first place), I just called the Bethel Town Office to see if I could get a copy and was told it wasn’t available yet.
TIF's
The whole wind power idea is such a taxpayer and rate payer scam. I’m particularly bothered by the TIFs. It’s the last insult thrown in the face of Mainers (just before they build the turbines, the ultimate insult).
A. TIFs were invented as a way to lure businesses that created good paying jobs to your area. But since the wind companies create so few permanent jobs, granting TIFs to wind companies is a joke.
B. If you look at Kibby’s TIF, Franklin County kept $4,000,000 of TIF money for economic development and gave almost $9,000,000 back to Trans Canada (over 20 years). This $9,000,000 gift, which Trans Canada failed to pay in taxes, has to be made up for by you and me and a lot of other Maine taxpayers. Correct me if I’m wrong, but why shouldn’t Franklin County keep the whole $13,000,000 and then just budget a few million for economic development. Franklin County would be way ahead of the game.
C. If your town or UT wants to understand what a TIF is all about, the wind companies will generously offer to pay for a law firm to “help” you understand what a TIF is all about and what a wonderful benefit it is for your town. That law firm is Eaton Peabody from Bangor. They have “helped” a lot of towns negotiate a TIF with the wind companies (while being paid with wind company money). Believe me, Eaton Peabody never forgets who is writing their paychecks!
D. Another part of the wind companies TIF that bugs the heck out of me is the fact that the turbines are depreciated 4% per year. In the Kibby TIF, allowing the 4% depreciation costs Franklin County another $13,367,559 over 20 years. Sweet deal for Trans Canada! Mars Hill was the first TIF negotiated and there was no depreciation allowed! None! Eaton Peabody slipped 2% into the Rollins project by First Wind. Now Eaton Peabody and their greedy masters have slipped 4% depreciation into all the recent TIF agreements.
E. When is Maine going to wake up!
Just say no!
You are right. We just need to say no to TIFs. What I can't understand is why more towns don't say no. The only wind project in the state where the people said no was in Freedom and that was a project by Patriot Renewables with three turbines.
So if there is next to zero tax relief under regular taxation, and absolutely no tax relief with a TIF, and they create so few jobs and cause so many problems with their noise and loss of property values near them, why would any town let them in? Other than benefit some lease holders on top of the hills, I can't for the life of me explain it.
Turbines and taxes.
Let’s say Patriot Renewables gets to put up 13 turbines in Dixfield (about a $39,000,000. investment). If they actually intended to pay the current tax rate of 16.75 mills on their investment, they would pay the town about $653,250,000. per year in taxes. Sounds pretty good, right? Wouldn’t people’s tax bills go down in Dixfield? The answer is yes, but only by a very tiny amount.
What people forget is that a town’s school and county appropriation is driven by the town’s total value. Dixfield’s value right now is about $147,250,000 and if you drive that up by $39,000,000., then your county tax and school tax increases eat up any tax relief. Of course the other towns in the school district don’t mind a bit, because any increase in Dixfield’s share of the school and county budgets means a small decrease in their county and school taxes.
Even in small towns where the turbine project doubles the town’s value, the tax relief was only about $120. per $150,000. of valuation. The figures I just quoted were done by the State of Maine’s Municipal Revenue Division. Let’s face it, if you think the turbine project will reduce your taxes in Dixfield, you’ve got another think coming!
But Patriot Renewables has absolutely no intention of paying their fair share. If they get their way, they are going to ask for a TIF. So instead of paying the town $653,250. per year, they are only going to pay the town about $195,975 per year (30%) and put the other $457,275 (70%) back in their pocket. Of course you might get a little more by driving a hard bargain with Patriot Renewable’s legal team (Eaton Peabody), but don’t count on it. And to add insult to injury, Patriot Renewables gets to depreciate the turbines by 2-3% per year by claiming them as personal property. Sweet deal for Patriot Renewables, huh! (Not so hot for Dixfield.)
That $195,975 the town receives cannot be used for tax relief, either. It can only be used for “economic development” within the TIF district. No swimming pools and no ball parks for the kids either. Most towns reconstruct a few miles of roads at $250,000 per mile (again the roads have to be within the TIF district), hire an economic development director, and spend a fair amount ($97,000 in Burlington’s case) on yearly lawyer fees to administer the TIF. Lincoln is going to buy a building, tear it down and put up a parking lot…cost, $1,000,000. The state has to approve everything, too.
Some towns use a portion of the TIF funds to promote tourism. That’s kind of a joke isn’t it? They just covered their hills with turbines, so how are they going to promote tourism?
The TIF would be worth it if the project created enough good paying jobs, but the average is one good paying permanent job for every 6 to10 turbines. And as Patriot Renewables gets more projects across Maine, I see them centralizing repair work and keeping a skeleton crew in places like Dixfield. Vote yes on the ordinance...it's the right thing to do.
Eaton Peabody
Let us not forget that Eaton Peabody is the law firm that wrote the TIF proposals for Stetson, Lincoln, Lee, Winn, Burlington, Oakfield and who knows how many other First Wind projects. Never forget they work for the Wind Companies (the people paying their salaries), not for the townspeople.
I guarantee Patriot Renewables will be pushing hard for a TIF. With a TIF, Patriot Renewables will be giving the town about 30-40% of the taxes they should have paid, and putting the rest, about 60-70% back in their pockets. They are allowed to depreciate the turbines (as personal property) between 2-3% per year too. Another loss for the town! No tax relief for the citizens either way!
How many turbines is Rumford really getting?
Here is another little problem that keeps cropping up with first Wind projects.
They tell you that they are going to put in 12 turbines and then later you learn that the 12 turbines was “Phase One”. “Phase Two” is another 6-10 or 12 turbines. It’s happening in Oakfield.
First Wind tells you that they are going to use one type of turbine and later you learn that they changed their mind and are now going to use a taller (louder) turbine. It’s happening in Oakfield.
What can you do about it if you vote down this ordinance? Absolutely nothing!
Corrections to the article.
A couple of corrections to the article.
$60,000,000 is the total project, but only 12 of the turbines will be in Rumford (see below).
“Pretty much, it's a tax shelter,” Puiia said. “Because they're making an investment of capital into your community, you're giving them somewhat of a tax break.” Somewhat of a tax break? Rumford will giving them a 60 to 70% tax break (see below)!
“A TIF would bring yearly savings to taxpayers “if we're not asking our citizens for money for economic development,” Puiia said.” When times are tough, Rumford doesn’t ask its citizens for “extra” money for economic development. Anybody know how much was in this year’s budget for economic development? Probably none. So there is no tax savings if the project is TIF’d.
“Plus, if you took the $564,000, you could create an economic development department or you create a district that could attract potentially more jobs.” The $564,000 is the figure for Somerset County, not Rumford! (see below)
“At the River Valley Growth Council meeting on Oct. 6, a First Wind official indicated the company would likely seek a TIF, estimating a first-year payment of $564,000, Puiia said. That amount increases incrementally each successive year.” The amount decreases incrementally each year because the wind company gets to depreciate the turbines 2-3% each year as personal property!
Original Post
First Wind keeps talking about the $60,000.000 investment in Rumford, but 7 of those turbines will be in Roxbury. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that means only about 37,000,000 will be invested in Rumford. If they actually intended to pay the current tax rate of 24 mills on their investment, they would pay the town about $888,000. per year. Sounds pretty good, right? Wouldn’t people’s tax bills go down in Rumford? The answer is yes, but only by a very tiny amount. What people forget is that a town’s school and county appropriation is driven by the town’s total value. Rumford’s value right now is about $734,000,000 and if you drive that up by $37,000,000 (which is only about 5%), then your county tax and school tax increases eat up any tax relief. Of course the other towns in the school district don’t mind a bit, because any increase in Rumford’s share of the school and county budgets means a small decrease in their county and school taxes.
Even in small towns where the turbine project doubles the town’s value, the tax relief was only about $120. per $100,000. of valuation. The figures I just quoted were done by the State of Maine’s Municipal Revenue Division. Let’s face it, if you think the turbine project will reduce your taxes in Rumford, you’ve got another think coming!
But First Wind has absolutely no intention of paying their fair share. If the ordinance is voted down, and they get their way, they are going to ask for a TIF. So instead of paying the town $888,000 per year, they are only going to pay the town $266,000 and put the other $622,000 back in their pocket. And to add insult to injury, First Wind gets to depreciate the turbines by 2-3% per year by claiming them as personal property. Sweet deal for First Wind, huh! (Not so hot for Rumford.)
That $266,000 the town receives cannot be used for tax relief, either. It can only be used for “economic development” within the TIF district. No swimming pools and no ball parks for the kids either. Most towns reconstruct a few miles of roads at $250,000 per mile, hire an economic development director, and spend a fair amount on yearly lawyer fees to administer the TIF. Lincoln is going to buy a building, tear it down and put up a parking lot…cost, $1,000,000 The state has to approve everything, too.
Some towns use a portion of the TIF funds to promote tourism. That’s kind of a joke isn’t it? They just covered their hills with turbines, so how are they going to promote tourism?
The TIF would be worth it if the project created enough good paying jobs, but the average is one good paying permanent job for every 6 to10 turbines. And as First Wind gets more projects across Maine, I see them centralizing repair work and keeping a skeleton crew in places like Rumford.
Vote to protect your neighbors, wind turbines are just not worth it.
Tax relief---get real.
Rumford should have contacted the State of Maine's Municipal Revenue Service for the truth a long time ago. You'll be lucky to get $10.00 per each $100,000 of your valuation off your taxes. Great , huh? A real "Wind Fall". And there has never been a wind project done in this state without a TIF, except for the three turbine project in Freedom.
As far as making the turbines a tourist attraction...good luck with that!
Any tax relief from those turbines?
First Wind keeps talking about the $60,000.000 investment in Rumford, but 7 of those turbines will be in Roxbury. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that means only about 37,000,000 will be invested in Rumford. If they actually intended to pay the current tax rate of 24 mills on their investment, they would pay the town about $888,000. per year. Sounds pretty good, right? Wouldn’t people’s tax bills go down in Rumford? The answer is yes, but only by a very tiny amount. What people forget is that a town’s school and county appropriation is driven by the town’s total value. Rumford’s value right now is about $734,000,000 and if you drive that up by $37,000,000 (which is only about 5%), then your county tax and school tax increases eat up any tax relief. Of course the other towns in the school district don’t mind a bit, because any increase in Rumford’s share of the school and county budgets means a small decrease in their county and school taxes.
Even in small towns where the turbine project doubles the town’s value, the tax relief was only about $120. per $100,000. of valuation. The figures I just quoted were done by the State of Maine’s Municipal Revenue Division. Let’s face it, if you think the turbine project will reduce your taxes in Rumford, you’ve got another think coming!
But First Wind has absolutely no intention of paying their fair share. If the ordinance is voted down, and they get their way, they are going to ask for a TIF. So instead of paying the town $888,000 per year, they are only going to pay the town $266,000 and put the other $622,000 back in their pocket. And to add insult to injury, First Wind gets to depreciate the turbines by 2-3% per year by claiming them as personal property. Sweet deal for First Wind, huh! (Not so hot for Rumford.)
That $266,000 the town receives cannot be used for tax relief, either. It can only be used for “economic development” within the TIF district. No swimming pools and no ball parks for the kids either. Most towns reconstruct a few miles of roads at $150,000 per mile, hire an economic development director, and spend a fair amount on yearly lawyer fees to administer the TIF. Lincoln is going to buy a building, tear it down and put up a parking lot…cost, $1,000,000 The state has to approve everything, too.
Some towns use a portion of the TIF funds to promote tourism. That’s kind of a joke isn’t it? They just covered their hills with turbines, so how are they going to promote tourism?
The TIF would be worth it if the project created enough good paying jobs, but the average is one good paying permanent job for every 6 to10 turbines. And as First Wind gets more projects across Maine, I see them centralizing repair work and keeping a skeleton crew in places like Rumford.
Vote to protect your neighbors, wind turbines are just not worth it.
Maine can learn a lot from Denmark.
Maine can learn a lot from Denmark. The Danes are the world leaders in wind power, the inventors of the wind farm and the home of Vestas, the number one manufacturer of wind turbines. The Danes have more turbines per capita than anywhere else in the world. While some say the turbines produce 17% of the total energy the Danes use, it turns out that the sporadic and volatile nature of wind energy is very hard to use. Much of it is sold to Germany, Norway and Sweden at huge losses.
Where the Danes go, the world of wind power follows. The Danes made big news recently because of two major decisions. They first slashed subsidies to the wind industry. Second, they banned all new land based wind farms due to public anger over noise and loss of property values near turbines.
It doesn’t matter whether the Highland project is 48 turbines or 28 or 10. It is still a useless project, designed to make a few wind companies and rich people like King and Gardiner richer still on our tax dollars, while destroying Maine’s pristine wilderness and the lives of people in the area.
Mine should not be a “wind colony” for Southern New England.
Good job Advisory Committee!
The committee's job was to protect the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of Rumford and that's exactly what they did. First Wind's job is to put up turbines anywhere they can, period!
Everyone in Rumford could have gone to the meetings and read the same thousands of pages of noise studies, etc., etc. that the committee did...but most chose not to. Having been there and done that in Jackson, I can say that it was absolutely exhausting. If I had to choose between doing that again or having all my teeth pulled…”Hello Mr. Dentist”. But for anyone who sticks with it till the bitter end, they can reach only one conclusion...turbines do not belong within a mile to a mile and a half of families.
As far as First Wind's offer to "help" draft the ordinance, it would be like having the fox help the farmer design the new chicken coop. Rumford's committee did their homework and did plenty of it, so kudos to them.
Recently Denmark, one of the world’s leaders in wind power, inventors of the “Wind Farm” and home of Vestas, the world’s number one wind turbine manufacturer, made two crucial decisions. First, they slashed subsidies to the wind industry and second, because of public anger over turbine noise and loss of property values near turbines, they banned all new land based wind farms! Now that’s quite a change for a country that has more turbines per capita than anywhere else in the world!
Rumford’s proposed ordinance didn’t even go that far.
Turbine Noise
Dear Common Sense,
I read your comments on sound and I’ve seen your list before (mostly in wind company’s brochures).
Let’s look at a few of them:
Let’s take that mosquito at 20 decibels. If you’re lying in bed, and all is quiet, how long will you listen to that mosquito before it makes you angry enough to get up and squash it like the bug that it is? Not long!
How about the birds? Got any of those within 10 feet of your bed? Even if you’re out side, how long do they keep it up (and how many are within 10 feet of you any way)?
How about that power mower? Do you take that inside with you when your hard day of mowing is done? No, you probably turn it off and put it away. And how big is your yard, anyway? Mow all winter do you? At night?
Tractor? You or your neighbor probably shut it off at some point and retire, right? Do you use it all winter, night after night (you see, turbine noise is usually more intrusive in the winter)?
Shaver? How long does it take to shave?
Train or truck? Got any within 100’ of your house and how many go by in the course of a day/night? Thousands? Do they keep it up 24/7 like a turbine does sometimes?
Your kid’s stereo you should have some control over, hopefully.
Crying baby? Tough luck. Should have thought of that first! But don’t worry; they usually grow out of that (a turbine lasts for twenty years or so).
Is it loud in your factory? Then your employer is probably making you wear ear protection. If he isn’t, then you should take it upon yourself to protect your hearing. And after eight hours or so, you can hang up your ear protection and go home for some well deserved peace and quiet (unless you have a turbine near by).
How about a chain saw? Maybe the old-times didn’t use ear protection (What’s that you say, young fella?), but most of the younger guys I know use ear protection and are relieved when the day is done and they can get some peace and quiet. (You see, Mr. CommonSense, the turbines aren’t shut off when the day is done.)
The problem with the turbines is that they produce high, low and ultra low frequency noise. It is unlike anything you described in your comments. On a quiet night (20 decibels in the country) the rhythmic swoosh, swoosh, swoosh of the turbines at 40-45 decibels can be maddening. On a logarithmic scale (such as decibels) 40 decibels is way more than twice as loud as 20 decibels. Most people say it sounds like a jet in the distance coming towards you but never gets to you. It’s just there for hours and hours on end. Lots of times it’s the last thing you hear at night (and if you can sleep at all) it’s the first thing you hear when you get up. It can go on for days.
Air stratification, which is very common on Maine hills and very uncommon on the Texas plains, causes blade wobble and a low frequency sound known as “blade thump” occurs. This is the noise that penetrates your house’s wall, rattles the dishes and most people who are familiar with this noise say it sounds like “sneakers in the dryer”.
These turbine noises are very different from your list, Mr. CommonSense and the people who live within a mile or two of your proposed turbines are going to let you know that if you put them up. They may even sue your town like they are in Mars Hill. Why are you so eager to let your town become the next Mars Hill, Freedom or Vinalhaven? We’ve listened to the wind company’s propaganda through all of these projects and every time a new project goes in, people have the same noise problems. When are we going to learn that when it comes to turbines, a mile is the minimum setback people need to mitigate the noise issue?
You forgot to mention the classic “It’s no louder than your refrigerator”. But that received so much derision that I don’t think the wind industry is using it anymore.
My car versus yours.
I want to power my car with clean, renewable hydro power from Quebec and my cost to run it will be $.06 cents per Kwh. I will be able to run my car 24-7.
Your wind turbine powered car is going to cost you $.26 cents per Kwh to run and you will be able to drive it only 30% of the time because that’s all the wind blows. No matter how many new and improved wind turbines you buy, the wind is still only going to blow 30% of the time (unless, of course, you find some way to control the wind and if that happened, I'll buy your car because I'd be scared to death of you).
I also like to operate a few things around the house 100% of the time (call me selfish). I don’t want to wait around till the wind blows. Nor do I want to pay $.26 cents per Kwh for a “fickle trickle” of electricity when I can get the real deal for $.06 cents.
Yes, call me selfish, call me spoiled, but I’ll take my car over yours 24-7. But keep me updated on that control of the wind thing, will you? I could change my mind.
You're way out of line, Mr. Wilson.
Dear Mr. Wilson,
You seem to be lumping anyone who questions the wisdom and logic of bringing a wind farm to their town with those “environmental radicals” who are against nuclear power, hydroelectric power and according to you, everything else that is good and just in this world. I beg to differ. Most of the people who are questioning wind power are like Mr. Greaney, who is but questioning the validity of the promises the wind industry is making.
Those leaders of our state who are for wind power are the same group who has been talking about the manufacturing of the turbines here in Maine. They have been doing that for several years now. Mr. Greaney is right and you are wrong.
Jobs are important and I agree with you in that respect, Mr. Wilson. However, a couple hundred temporary construction jobs for five months or so while the turbines are being constructed don’t have much value to your town. Reed & Reed, Sargent & Sargent, Cianbro and a few other large construction firms may benefit, but when the construction is completed and everyone leaves, your town is left with about one permanent job for every five to six turbines. That’s what Mr. Greaney is talking about.
If you did a little more homework Mr. Wilson, you would learn that making electricity with wind power costs about three times as much as with natural gas and wind power only operates about 25% of the time. Did you know that Maine already makes more electricity than it can use, and 40% of what we make is from renewable sources? The fact is, Mr. Wilson, Maine ratepayers can’t afford the higher electricity rates the turbines will cause.
Do you know, Mr. Wilson, that the only reason the PUC approved the new, 1.5 billion transmission lines, which will raise our already high electricity rates, was to transport the power made by the wind farms down to southern New England. Of course they (our leaders) told us that our lines were old and needed this 1.5 billion dollar improvement for upkeep and only now is the truth coming out.
Have you read any of the letters written by the residents of Mars Hill, Freedom and Vinalhaven who live within a mile of the turbines, Mr. Wilson? No? Well then I suggest you do so. It may interest you to know that many of these same people were for wind power, but that was before they turned the turbines on. It may also interest you to know, Mr. Wilson, that the town of Mars Hill is being sued by these people in six separate lawsuits for the health problems and loss of property values the turbines have caused.
Your “rogue” group that wrote the Rumford Ordinance was charged with protecting the health, welfare, and safety of Rumford’s citizens and that is exactly what they did. Their job was not to write an ordinance for or against wind power, but to protect the people. I can’t help but remember Johnny Cochran’s words in OJ’s trial, “If the glove doesn’t fit, then you cannot convict!” In your world, Mr. Wilson, you would have got a bigger glove, or in Rumford’s case, just re-written the ordinance to make the turbines “fit”. It is becoming more and more obvious around the world that a one mile setback from people’s property and homes is the minimum acceptable setback to protect people from the low and ultra low frequency noise of the turbines (unless of course you live on the other side of town and can’t hear or see them and don’t care about your neighbors).
Mr. Wilson, I hope I’m wrong, but I can’t help but feel from the somewhat shrill tone of your letter, that you have some connection to the wind industry. Do you, or any of your friends or relatives own some of the land on which the turbines may be built? Do you, or any of your friends or relatives, stand to gain monetarily in any way if the turbines come to town? Please tell me I’m wrong. Please.
TIF's mean no tax relief!
A sixty-five million increase in Rumford’s tax base is very misleading if the town is going to TIF the project. A TIF means you can’t tax that $65,000,000. A TIF also guarantees that the residents of Rumford will not see their taxes go down because of the wind project…not one dime!
The residents of Rumford are also probably not aware that the other towns in their school district (I assume they're in a district/union) could get together and vote to "not honor" Rumford’s TIF with the wind company. As you are probably aware, a TIF cheats these other towns out of a share of the taxes Rumford would have paid the school district had the project not been TIF’d.
In Jackson, where I live, there was a movement in the other towns in our district (SAD 3) to do just that if we put in turbines and TIF'd the project. Even our selectmen, who were very pro wind, didn't want a TIF for that very reason. In the end, Jackson voted for a “thirteen times turbine height setback” (with mitigation waivers) and has seen no further action by CES (the developers of Freedom’s three turbine project) and who are somehow associated with Patriot Renewables.
If that happened to Rumford, they would be liable for the several hundred thousand dollars their town should have paid the school district each year. Do you suppose the wind company would let them out of their TIF contract? I doubt it. If Rumford couldn’t get out of the TIF, their millrate would skyrocket and stay there for the length of the TIF, normally twenty-two years or more.
TIF's are figured by multiplying the town's present mill rate by the total value of the project. The resulting figure is near what the wind company would have to pay under "regular" taxation. Of course, under “regular” taxation most of that money would be gobbled up by the county and the school system, but a little is left for tax relief in the town, but not much. In Jackson, a ten turbine project would have reduced the taxes on a $150,000 property about $140. per year The State’s Municipal Revenue Division would probably be able to tell Rumford how much tax relief twelve turbines would mean to the tax payers in Rumford, if they didn’t TIF the project
If Rumford decides to go for the TIF, then the negotiations begin with the wind company's lawyers. Eaton Peabody has done all of First Wind’s TIF’s and are very experienced. Most are negotiated so that the town gets 40% of the TIF money and the wind company keeps 60%. Lincoln and Burlington managed to negotiate a 50-50 split. Vinalhaven got 10% and the “for profit” part of Fox Islands Winds kept 90%. All of the wind projects so far in Maine have been TIF'd, except for Freedom's.
TIF's save the wind companies millions in tax dollars over the life of the project. I don’t know what the millrate is in Rumford, but if it was .0200 and project was worth $65,000,000, and the wind company got to put 60% of that figure back in their pocket each year, then the wind company would save about $13,000,000. in the twenty-two year life span of a traditional TIF. Of course the turbines are depreciated as personal property 2% per year, so the town’s share decreases a little every year. It’s no wonder wind companies love TIF’s!
Rumford’s share would have to be spent on “economic development” projects within the TIF district. They couldn’t spend it on a new community center, new town hall, swimming pool, or ball field. Most towns just reconstruct a few miles of road (within the TIF district, of course) at $250,000 per mile and leave it at that. If they can prove to the state that the addition of turbines have caused the need for a new dump truck, fire engine, etc., they might be able to get that purchase approved. A small portion of the TIF proceeds may be used for community wide projects and most towns use this money for granting some scholarships. Of course they always have to set aside a goodly sum to administer and pay the legal fees associated with the TIF.
Towns seem to jump on the TIF's every time, even though a TIF guarantees absolutely no reduction in their taxes. If I lived in Rumford, I’d be looking at everything very, very carefully. And if I lived in one of the other towns in the school district, I’d be watching Rumford very, very carefully too.
Vote for a moratorium.
The residents of Carthage are propably not aware that the other towns in their school district (I assume they're in a district/union) could get together and vote to "not honor" Carthage's TIF with the wind company. As you are probably aware, a TIF cheats these other towns out of a share of the taxes Carthage would have paid the school district had the project not been TIF’d.
In Jackson, where I live, there was a movement in the other towns in our district (SAD 3) to do just that if we put in turbines and TIF'd the project. Even our selectmen, who were very pro wind, didn't want a TIF for that very reason. In the end, Jackson voted for a “thirteen times turbine height setback” (with mitigation waivers) and has seen no further action by CES (the developers of Freedom’s three turbine project) and who are somehow associated with Patriot Renewables.
If that happened to Carthage, they would be liable for the several hundred thousand dollars their town should have paid the school district each year. Do you suppose the wind company would let them out of their TIF contract? I doubt it. If Carthage couldn’t get out of the TIF, their millrate would skyrocket and stay there for the length of the TIF, normally twenty-two years or more.
TIF's are figured by multiplying the town's present mill rate by the total value of the project. The resulting figure is near what the wind company would have to pay under "regular" taxation. Of course, under “regular” taxation most of that money would be gobbled up by the county and the school system, but a little is left for tax relief in the town, but not much. Mike Rogers would probably be able to tell Carthage how much tax relief twelve turbines would mean to the tax payers in Carthage if they didn’t TIF the project.
If Carthage decides to go for the TIF, then the negotiations begin with the wind company's lawyers. Eaton Peabody has done all of First Wind’s TIF’s and are very experienced. Most are negotiated so that the town gets 40% of the TIF money and the wind company keeps 60%. Lincoln and Burlington managed to negotiate a 50-50 split. Vinalhaven got 10% and the “for profit” part of Fox Islands Winds kept 90%. All of the wind projects so far in Maine have been TIF'd, except for Freedom's.
TIF's save the wind companies millions in tax dollars over the life of the project. I don’t know what the millrate is in Carthage, but if it was .0200 and project was worth $43,000,000, and the wind company got to put 60% of that figure back in their pocket, then the wind company would save $8,000,000+ in the twenty-two year life span of a traditional TIF. Of course the turbines are depreciated as personal property 2% per year, so the town’s share decreases a little every year. It’s no wonder wind companies love TIF’s!
Carthage’s share would have to be spent on “economic development” projects within the TIF district. They couldn’t spend it on a new community center, new town hall, swimming pool, or ball field. Most towns just reconstruct a few miles of road (within the TIF district, of course) at $250,000 per mile and leave it at that. If they can prove to the state that the addition of turbines have caused the need for a new dump truck, fire engine, etc., they might be able to get that purchase approved. A small portion of the TIF proceeds may be used for community wide projects and most towns use this money for granting some scholarships. Of course they always have to set aside a goodly sum to administer and pay the legal fees associated with the TIF. There is a lot more to TIF's than meets the eye.
Towns seem to jump on the TIF's every time, even though a TIF guarantees absolutely no reduction in their taxes. If I lived in Carthage, I’d be voting for a moratorium so people had a chance to slow things down and look at everything very, very carefully. And if I lived in one of the other towns in the school district, I’d be watching Carthage very, very carefully too.
Wind Farms cause more coal plant pollution
In an interesting report recently out of Colorado, it seems that the more wind farms go on line, the more the coal fired plants pollute.
It works like this: "Integrating erratic and unpredictable wind resources with established coal and natural gas generation resources requires PSCO to cycle its coal and natural gas-fired plants.3 Cycling coal plants to accommodate wind generation makes the plants operate inefficiently, which drives up emissions. Moreover, when they are not operated consistently at their designed temperatures, the variability causes problems with the way they interact with their associated emission control technologies, frequently causing erratic emission behavior that can last for several hours before control is regained. Ironically, using wind to a degree that forces utilities to temporarily reduce their coal generation results in greater SO2, NOX and CO2 than would have occurred if less wind energy were generated and coal generation were not impacted. "
Full report: http://ipams.org/wp-content/uploads/BENTEKStudy_How_Less_Became_More.pdf
So if the wind farms do not save oil (remember that the US uses very little oil to produce electricity), cause coal fired plants not to be shut down but to pollute more, produce very few permanent jobs for Mainers, and most of the "boutique power" produced is sold out of state to organizations who want to feel good about paying a lot for "Green Power", why are we tearing up miles and miles of our most scenic mountain tops for so little benefit!
Hopefully the Maine Lung Association (and others) will take note.
Turbine Noise
Turbine noise is a serious concern for those who live within a mile or two of turbines, but obviously not to those who are spending a few minutes walking around the turbines. The wind industry says, "It's no louder than your refrigerator." or "It's no louder than a quiet conversation in your living room." I guess Donna is saying , "It's no louder than your respirator."
The noise is highly variable too. Some of the factors which affect the noise are: wind speed, direction, elevation, and stratification. If you don't live within a mile of turbines, then you really have no idea what you are talking about. If you are interested in getting more information on turbine noise, I'd suggest you contact people who live within a mile of turbines. I'm sure there are plenty of people in Mars Hill, Freedom and Vinalhaven who would love to tell you what it's like.