By Linda Makson, resident of the Town of Orangeville in Wyoming county in New York State
After years and several lawsuits brought by CLEAR SKIES OVER ORANGEVILLE, our town board approved INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES for Orangeville, (each board member is conflicted because they or a relative has an INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINE contract.)
Orangeville’s GE 1.6 -100 mw turbines are capable of creating 1.6 mw each. Their height is 450 feet and the hub height is 80 m
This project went on line in December 2013.
Important to note is that I live in a fly zone for migrating birds.
Orangeville’s town board approved the distance for non-participating residents (I am one) as 1230 feet (a quarter mile) from their residence and 700 feet from a property line.
My house is surrounded by a minimum of 16 INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES. Each window has a view of an INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINE.
The symptoms of stress and tension began when the town proposed these monsters and placed INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES in residential areas.
Beginning with the total clearing of the land, displacing every living thing; then the hundreds of vehicles, cement trucks and rebar hauling delivery trucks then the semi-trucks delivering the components and they each need pilot and police cars, but to navigate the turn onto roads a large half circle is need so the semis can negotiate the turns.
Sound pollution, air pollution visual pollution all before anything was erected (noise, dust, dirt, grime, fumes). Then the ‘beep, beep, beep of the machinery for weeks.
We have completely lost our quality of life. We no long have a visual that used to be called “God’s country’ now we have INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES as our vista. The beauty of the multi colored leaves in the Fall is diminished greatly by the rotating blades and red lights. The fresh new green in the Spring is barely seen because the INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES take up the entire view.
The noise is comparable to Niagara Falls, or a jet landing and taking off, or a constant roar. This is day and night when they are running. The noise permeates our house so that even with the windows and doors closed the noise can still be heard. In the warm months with windows open, you can imagine what sleeping is like with the roaring. The ‘white noise’ is another problem that many hear when others don’t. Our house has even ‘shook’ from the noise.
Flicker happens when the blade crosses the sun first it is dark then light again. Dark to light repeatedly for 30 minutes, on and off. There is no escaping flicker because it will hover over the treetops as well. Like noise, there is NO escaping.
Our relief comes when we leave the town and leave the INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES behind us. Our headaches and stress and tension begin to wane.
We wear earplugs at night but the sound even penetrates them.
We have installed several solar lights so when I lookout a window I don’t have to immediately see the red blinking lights on each turbine (the red lights are so the FAA will be happy) nor the rotating blades.
Your television and other electronics will be negatively affected as well. The compensation for flicker is $200.00 to purchase ‘drapes, blinds and curtains’ the mitigation for internet and television is ‘a satellite dish contract for one year at the basic package’, after a years’ time you are responsible to either renew or drop the package. Each of these is then considered income and the person must claim it as income on their taxes, plus, sign a waiver that you will not hold the INDUSTRIAL WIND Company liable.
For the few dollars that each landowner will receive, his/her neighbors are saddled with a 20 to 50 year life of misery. For the few thousand dollars the town receives, you will be told they ‘will look into it’ when you complain and the misery continues, indefinitely. If you contact the ‘hot line’ you will receive some personal attention and then be informed what the mitigation is, blinds, drapes and curtains or shutters and a one -year satellite package. They will encourage you that earplugs suggesting that ‘may help’ with the sound. They say nothing about the health risk and worsening health conditions.
Schools will be given a few thousand dollars yearly and that may be the salary for one teacher for one year. Your town taxes may be paid for thru the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes), however, that amount is never enough to compensate your dwindling health.
INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES ARE NOT GOOD NEIGHBORS. They end up pitting neighbor against neighbor and sometimes family members against each other. There is nothing good that can come from them.
