By
TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff
NARRAGANSETT
— Wind turbines are a hard sell these days.
Several
Rhode Island communities have denied wind turbine projects or simply shown
reluctance to explore building new ones. Much of the aversion stems from a fear
of community backlash.
Real or not, objections to noise, shadow flicker and a
drop in property values are the frequent arguments against these renewable
energy projects. The disabled Portsmouth High School turbine also sits as a
vivid example of expensive repairs.
Lang
is one of two URI researchers studying the noise and visual impacts of Rhode
Island’s 14 wind turbines. The data is expected to help update the state energy
plan and provide municipal planners and developers standards for assessing
local wind projects. The first of three public workshops sponsored by the
Office of Energy Resources was held Jan. 17 at URI's Coastal Institute.
Lang
will conduct an analysis of real-estate sales from 1996 to 2012 to uncover
trends that wind turbines might have had on property prices. Only those
properties within 2 miles of a turbine will be included in the study.
“That’s
a huge issue and people have right to be concerned about it,” Lang said.
Harold
Vincent, research professor in the University of Rhode Island’s Department of
Ocean Engineering, will conduct acoustic measurements at the state’s wind
turbines. Vincent, an underwater acoustics expert, explained that wind turbines
generate unusual sound patterns that sometimes get louder at further distances.
Vincent
will take several acoustic readings in order to account for the many conditions
that influence the “wooshing” sound from turbines, such as traffic,
temperature, humidity and wind direction.
Massachusetts
sets its current wind turbine noise standard at 10 decibels above ambient or
background noise. By comparison, breathing registers at 10 decibels and a
vacuum cleaner registers at 80 decibels.
A
Rhode Island renewable energy report released at the end of 2012 omitted the
anticipated wind turbine siting standards, such as fall zones and noise levels.
The East Bay Energy Consortium wind project has waited on the guideline to
advance its turbine project in Tiverton.
Critics
of wind turbines often point to the tax breaks and financial incentives that
are needed for wind turbines to compete with fossil-fuel-based energy. Local
opposition has focused more on the aesthetics, as it did in defeating proposals
in Westerly, Middletown and Jamestown.
One
of the first and most contentions wind turbine proposals is in Charlestown.
Resident Lawrence LeBlanc has tried unsuccessfully since 2009 to build two
400-foot-high turbines on property next to Route 1.
Opponents say the project
hurts property values and the rural character of the coastal town. The Town
Council enacted a moratorium on wind turbines in 2010, and a group of residents
and the Town Council have sued the Zoning Board for considering the project.
LeBlanc
attended the workshop at URI with his attorney Nicholas Gorham. Both seemed
pleased that a higher authority was helping set standards for wind development.
“The state is taking renewable energy seriously and that is a step in the right
direction,” Gorham said.
Seth
Steinman of People’s Power & Light, a buyer and distributor of renewable
energy, also approved of the wind research project. “Wind turbines are the most affordable source of
zero-emission energy and a crucial piece of the puzzle to reach our state's
clean energy goals. This science-based, state-specific process will provide
valuable information to help developers, municipalities, and citizens build
well-sited wind turbines in Rhode Island.”
A
draft report from the research is expected sometime between October and March
2014.