Mountain Laurel Estates

The board has received notice from the town that the turbine blades have been delivered to the NK Green and that they expect the remaining material to be delivered by September.

At this point it certainly appears that a Goldwind GW82, a 389 foot tall industrial unit (similar to the ones installed in the industrial area containing the docks, Oil Tanks, and sewer treatment plant in Providence’s “Fields Point”) will be installed in the RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD of NK Green, less than 500 feet from occupied homes — despite the problems that have been reported in Portsmouth, Fairhaven, and Falmouth with similar sized turbines located much future away from occupied homes.

Three remaining concerns, are: 1) Noise levels, 2) Shadow Flicker, and 3) Final TUV Certification. It remains unclear how the developer will keep the noise level below the town 50 dBA limit beyond the property line containing the turbine, what amount of Shadow Flicker will be experienced by homeowners in that neighborhood and the surrounding area, and if official certification of the Goldwind GW82 has ever been received (certification was “In Process”).

The closest homes in Mountain Laurel Estates to the NK Green Turbine are those closest to Route 4 and are approximately 4600 feet away. Those homeowners closer to Plain Rd are approximately 7300 feet away.

Immediately prior to the town pulling the NK Green turbine permit for a second time, the applicant changed from the Vestas V100 turbine on the original permit application, the model that had been presented to the ZBR during the process of obtaining a special use permit, to a Chinese Goldwind 1.5 MW turbine. The town pulled the permit as a result of that change requesting more details. At least some of those requested items were supplied by the applicant, and the permit was reinstated.

The town solicitor is of the opinion that the change from a Vestas V100 turbine to the Goldwind GW87 is not significant enough to revoke the permit a third time. The town manager and solicitor have both received information that indicates another condition of the permit may be violated — that the noise level beyond lot 23 will be above the town limit. They have both publicly stated that should this happen, the town will pull the operating permit for the turbine — although it may be that a court would decide that a noise violation in the common/open space harms no one, and therefore would do nothing. Apparently the law is not the law unless there is someone there to be harmed?

So as of this point in time the applicant has the permit back and can continue construction of the foundation.

However, there is another issue. There is currently no proof in the hands of the solicitor that indicates that the turbine has been certified. The town has stated that no operation permit will be granted unless certification has been received. TUV, the international group that certifies many turbines has no record of the Goldwind GW87 turbine having been applied for as of May of 2011 (other Goldwind models are in the “pending” category, but none are listed as certified as of May of 2011).

In the words of the Town Council President, it is very likely that the construction of the NK Green turbine will be completed. As such she has tasked the working group with the responsibility of writing the codes and enforcement criteria to ensure that the turbine is operated in a safe manor consistent with the town laws.

The NK Village Green Wind Turbine will be located about 3/4 of a mile from MLE.  So why should you care that there is a 427 foot tall Wind Turbine planned for that Neighborhood?

The reason is clearly visible looking East at the intersection of Autumn and Laurel Ridge.  If you look down the hill you can see less than a third of the construction crane being used to build the rail station poking above our neighborhood tree line.  That is almost the same distance and view that would be seen if the Wind Turbine was there — Except the Wind Turbine is FANTASTICALLY larger.

How high is the crane in the photo?  If the boom could be put straight up in the sky, it would be 213 feet tall to the tip.  However, you don’t operate a crane that way.  Today the crane was set to a 50 degree angle, which puts the top at 163 feet.  Coincidentally this is almost exactly how tall windmill at New England Tech is (157 feet actually).

If built, the VG Wind Turbine is going to be 2.6 times that tall.

In the photo below, approximately 50 vertical feet of the crane is visible above the tree line.  The other 113 feet is hidden by the trees.  The VG Wind Turbine is 427 feet tall.  So you have to imagine something that is another 260 feet taller than the tip of the crane, or more than six times as much crane poking above the trees. That is the approximate size of the windmill that has been added into the image.

Benjamin C. Riggs Jr.: Wind power will cost R.I. dearly
01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, April 24, 2011 PROJO

By Benjamin C. Riggs Jr.

Everyone I know in Rhode Island has the same goals: a cleaner planet overall and more employment here in our state. Unfortunately, all these renewed efforts by the General Assembly to further subsidize renewable energy, primarily in the form of wind turbines, will be detrimental to both. Here’s why.

Rhode Island needs to pursue economic development that is achievable and that builds on our strengths, which are mainly the marine trades, not wind farms.

Wind-turbine projects threaten the already fragile Rhode Island economy with extreme utility-rate increases that will hurt consumers and keep manufacturing businesses from expanding or locating here. Land-based wind turbines depend on subsidies at a rate of more than 12 times those given to the oil and gas sectors, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

In response to my complaint about how the wind turbine in Portsmouth is being subsidized by other ratepayers across the state, the attorney general’s office has stated that the “net metering” arrangement it depends on is unlawful. That’s because, for wholesale producers like Portsmouth, the reimbursement rate is set by federal law at the utilities’ “avoided cost.” A final ruling on this will follow at the state Division of Public Utilities, and the proper rate will be set later by the Public Utility Commission.

I filed this complaint because a system that results in one community’s profiting financially by taxing other communities is just plain wrong. Rhode Island’s citizens end up worse off overall, and yet somehow our General Assembly wants to expand these programs even further.

The problems with wind power are coming out of the closet, and have been a surprise to many of us. For example, it turns out wind power isn’t “green.” In fact, it creates significant, deadly ground pollution where the turbine magnet components are made (in China), while creating numerous environmental problems and risks when installed in non-industrial areas.

And, ironically, because conventional plants must ramp up and down to accommodate wind’s fickle nature, wind actually results in more fuel usage and carbon emissions that it saves. This is similar to what happens when you drive your car in stop-and-go traffic instead of on the highway.

Another surprise: Wind doesn’t replace foreign oil. Oil isn’t used to make electricity. And because wind can’t be counted on to produce power when it is needed, it won’t replace a single conventional power plant.

Will it save money? No, not now or even in the future. It costs two to three times more than conventional sources. And domestic natural gas supplies are increasing, with those costs continuing to go down, even while oil has gone up.

Because wind power drains money from our economy, it doesn’t, and won’t in the future, create jobs. It will actually cost jobs. The money, much of which will go overseas, will no longer be available to spend on food, clothing, shelter and medical care in Rhode Island.

Where does the money go? The $3 million or so for a wind turbine (which includes more than $1 million in taxpayer subsidies) goes to China, India, Germany and other places mostly outside Rhode Island. And all for a relatively small trickle of power.

What will this industry be like in 15 years? We can answer that by taking a look at Europe, which is well ahead of us. It’s been a disappointment. Spain is a good example. It has invested heavily in the renewable industry, and now is on the edge of financial collapse, with a 20 percent unemployment rate, the highest in the European Community.

Legislation before the General Assembly sets the reimbursement rates for developers and municipalities at the full retail rate. That triples those electric costs for National Grid (and us), and guarantees that if conventional power costs go up, the cost of wind power will go up with it. And when these wind turbines wear out, they will have to be removed and replaced at an even higher cost.

All this added expense directly reduces what consumers have left to spend — and consumer spending is two-thirds of our economy. It will also impact businesses from the flower shop on Main Street to the manufacturer at Quonset. Temporary jobs installing wind turbines are just that, temporary. And the real profits go overseas (even if it is to GE) and to a handful of developers reaping the benefits of misguided subsidies.

How can we improve our economy? If we really want economic growth, we need to focus on Rhode Island’s strengths. Whatever we do, let’s not ship any more jobs out of our state and our country.

Benjamin C. Riggs Jr., of Newport, is a retired Naval aviator and manufacturing executive who specialized in business management, acquisitions and development.