I’m at my wit’s end; I can’t deal with this anymore.”

David Souza, abutter to wind turbine

PORTSMOUTH — They weren’t fans of the old wind turbine, and several abutters told the Town Council Monday night they’re also not fond of its replacement.

Several neighbors asked the council to take action to mitigate problems with noise and shadow flicker being generated by the turbine, which is now owned by Green Development, LLC (formerly Wind Energy Development LLC) of North Kingstown.

“It’s just getting unbearable,” said David Souza, who lives at 25 Lowell Drive. 

Mr. Souza showed videos of the shadow flicker from both inside and outside his home. Resembling a slow strobe light effect, the flicker takes place only certain times of the day but is more pronounced this time of year, residents said. “The longest time I’ve had with it is almost an hour and a half,” Mr. Souza said.

He’s also endured many sleepless nights due to the noise, and said it’s beginning to affect his job. “I need my sleep,” said Mr. Souza, a firefighter for 29 years.

This is the second turbine on the site that abutters have complained about. The first was a shorter structure that the town built in 2009 after voters approved a $3 million bond issue. In 2012, however, the machine shut down due to a faulty gearbox supplied by a company that went bankrupt.

In November 2014 the council voted to enter into a contract with WED to allow the town to pay off the remaining debt of $1.45 million that was left on the turbine. In exchange, the town agreed to buy energy generated from the current turbine, which was built by WED and activated in August 2016.

The new turbine is 65 feet taller than the older one, topping out at about 280 feet.

At a council meeting in January 2016 before the new turbine was built, WED owner Mark DePasquale said the taller turbine would not affect the amount of shadow flicker. He added that since it would produce more energy, a taller turbine could be shut down for brief spells during peak flicker activity.  As for noise, Mr. DePasquale said the taller turbine would be quieter and run more efficiently.

Abutters who spoke Monday, however, said that hasn’t been the case.

Robin Hall, of 26 Carver St., said the noise and flicker are “ruining” the neighborhood’s quality of life.

“We have a beautiful wrap-around porch, but we can’t sit out there because of the constant flickering,” she said. “I could not have Christmas in our dining room because we have a flicker from 1 to 2.” 

Denise Wilkey, of 3140 East Main Road, said she thinks the new wind turbine is even louder than the last. “We do deserve to sleep. I would like to open my windows; we can’t do it anymore,” she said.

Mr. DePasquale said he didn’t think the new turbine is louder, because the old one had many more movable parts. However, he assured residents that he would address their concerns as best he could, and shared his personal cell phone number so they could contact him at any time.

Some residents, however, said they’ve heard it all before. 

Mr. Souza said he contacted Mr. DePasquale last year about the noise and flicker issues. “They told me they’d look into it and they’d get back to me. It’s been a year and he hasn’t gotten back to me,” he said.

Mr. Souza added that he understood how WED erased the town’s debt by taking over the turbine. “But we have to live with this. I’m at my wit’s end; I can’t deal with this anymore,” he said.

Flicker in daytime, noise at night

Council member Paul Kesson, who lives on East Main Road just north of Sprague Street, sympathized with the residents because he’s also noticed the bothersome conditions.

“You can’t get away from it unless you put a board on your window,” said Mr. Kesson, noting he’s never formally complained. “It’s constant flicker when the sun is up, it’s constant noise when the sun is down.”

The problem, however, is that the flicker affects different residents at different times, depending on where they live in relation to the turbine and other factors, he said.

Mr. Depasquale agreed, saying he’d have to shut down the turbine for good in order to please everyone. (To that, he was met with a smattering of applause.)

“This has to be a sustainable solution,” he said.

The discussion ended with Mr. Depasquale agreeing to follow up with homeowners and make a detailed report during a return meeting to the council on March 12.