PORTSMOUTH — Some residents who complained about shadow flicker and noise generated by the old wind turbine near Portsmouth High School are apparently not happy with the new machine, …
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PORTSMOUTH — Some residents who complained about shadow flicker and noise generated by the old wind turbine near Portsmouth High School are apparently not happy with the new machine, either.
Some of the abutters are planning to bring their concerns to the Town Council on Monday, Feb. 12. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
In a Jan. 29 letter to the council, David Souza, who lives near the turbine at 25 Lowell Drive, complained about the “constant output of noise and seasonal shadow flicker” caused by the turbine.
“These problems cause sleep disturbance and overall poor quality of life,” Mr. Souza stated in his letter. “I recommend that a solution to this problem be to shut down the wind turbine during hours of the day that cause shadow light flicker, and also during the night, as the noise disturbs our quality of sleep.”
Mr. Souza said he’s spoken with other neighbors in the area and they have the same complaints.
“When we residents purchased our properties, we did not have this wind turbine in our backyard,” he said.
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 Wind Energy Development (WED) of North Kingstown 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.
Stephen Brusini, attorney for WED, added that under the company’s contract with the town, the amount of shadow flicker could not increase with the new turbine.
As for noise, Mr. DePasquale said the taller turbine would be quieter and run more efficiently.