|
30 November 2011
Letter: These facts show Winter Island wind turbine makes sense
Letter to the Editor/Salem News
To the editor:
Salem has a huge opportunity to harness its wind resources safely and beautifully, despite what a small group of neighbors in the Willows and a handful of wealthy folks across the harbor in Marblehead claim.
Winter Island is the only city-owned site that combines excellent wind resources and adequate distances from residences. Unlike other towns such as Hull that had several potential locations to choose from, Winter Island is the only one in Salem. Fortunately for us, it is also an ideal site for many reasons.
As was requested in the letter published by Kevin Harvey a few weeks ago, I urge my fellow citizens to consider the following facts:
The wind turbine being proposed would stand 380 feet tall to the tip, which is more than 100 feet lower than the taller smokestack at the power plant.
It would become a new symbol for Salem and show how our city is returning to its historic roots of harnessing the wind for economic benefit.
The wind turbine would generate between $500,000 and $600,000 in annual revenue for the city.
It would have an eight- to nine-year payback (maybe faster if energy prices keep going up) and provide the city with a stable and predictable income stream at the very time when our largest taxpayer, Salem Harbor Station, is closing down.
The sound emitted by this wind turbine would not have an adverse impact on nearby residents.
In most instances, residents on Winter Island Road would not even hear the unit operate when outside. They would never hear it when indoors.
While some have expressed concern that the sound of the turbine would more easily travel over water, we forget that this only occurs under certain weather conditions, when the water is calm and there is little or no wind. Under those conditions, the turbine would not be spinning nor creating any sound.
In addition, the seasonal variation in winds indicates that the unit would operate much less during the calmer summer months and much more during the windier winter months. As a result, it would complement how Winter Island is used by Salem's residents very well.
Six households from Salem and six households from Marblehead have hired a lawyer and sound consultant to oppose this project. Mr. Harvey and others like to point out that a recent study recommends a 1.25-mile "sound buffer" around a wind turbine. What they don't tell you is that this "report" is by the same sound consultant they hired and that this distance far exceeds the state's and other communities' recommendations.
The closest residential structure to this proposed unit would be more than 1,400 feet away, The Plummer Home.
Those of us who went on the tour to Hull saw residences 650 to 800 feet away from their 1.8-megawatt unit. These people happily live near a turbine larger than what is being proposed here in Salem (1.8 MW vs. 1.5 MW) with no ill consequences or concerns and no apparent impact on their property values.
Anyone who doubts this is invited to take a drive to Hull and talk to some of these folks. That's what some of us did.
While flicker is a concern on many wind projects, at Winter Island it is not. (Flicker is the shadow effect created by the sun shining through the turbine as it spins during certain times of the day and year.)
The feasibility study conducted by Meridian Associates estimated that there would be a total of 18 hours of flicker a year mainly concentrated along the Fort Avenue area. This is a very low number. All of it would occur during the winter months between 6:30 and 8:30 in the morning and only when the sun is shining.
Is this something people in Salem could live with if it meant reducing our tax burden? I think so.
The opposition likes to focus on the Falmouth wind turbines since their lawyer represents one of the residents there. (Falmouth has two wind turbines on the property of its sewage treatment plant.) Meanwhile, other, more comparable projects are ignored because they demonstrate how a single, community-scale wind turbine can be successfully sited in a densely populated, coastal community.
Take a look at the two units operating at either end of Hull (one right next to the high school and the other within 700 feet of houses), or take a drive down to Portsmouth, R.I., and see the 1.5 MW unit making money for the town at the back of the high school.
Mr. Harvey described the proposed wind turbine at Winter Island as a "monstrosity" in his recent letter. I respectfully believe that he and his fellow opponents are wrong.
Harnessing the wind to generate power at Winter Island is a win-win-win: It is a win for the city since Salem can reduce its energy expenses; it is a win for taxpayers looking for some help as the largest taxpayer shuts its doors; and it is a win for future generations. The real monstrosity here is doing nothing while Salem faces mounting financial challenges and the world faces the dire prospect of climate change. Salem deserves better than a group of 12 wealthy households in the Willows and Marblehead opposing progress in the name of "not in my backyard."
Jeff Barz-Snell
Member, Renewable Energy Task Force
Co-Leader, Salem Alliance for the Environment
Salem
Posted by ahanscom at 4:13 PM
| Link
03 November 2011
Nothing to fear, plenty to gain, from Winter Island wind turbine
Brian T. Watson column
"The meeting with the Winter Island Road residents was very encouraging. Here was a group of diverse citizens of all different ages and interests — none of whom initially had known anything about turbines — who had done their homework, visited actual operating turbines, and developed a clear and accurate understandings of the issues that are typically raised when the machines are being considered anywhere...."
Posted by ahanscom at 9:13 PM
| Link
25 August 2011
Moving Planet/Sept. 24, 2011
Join SAFE and Beverly's "Solar Now!" for this event
Salem Alliance for the Environment (SAFE) and Beverly's Solar Now! are teaming up with folks from all over New England for the next global climate change event organized by 350.org! On 10/10/10 many of you joined in Salem's Day of Climate Action. This year, 350.org is focusing on fewer, bigger events, and one is right here is Boston!
We will be traveling down to Boston by public transportation in whatever way suits you best. One group will pick a particular commuter train to take down together and then walk to the event, while others will bike from the Beverly solar fields to the Salem Ferry, and take that to Boston.
We plan to wear earth colors of blue and green so that we'll stand out as a group on our trip, and bring pinwheels to represent a call for wind power. Please bring any other signs or visuals you would like!
Find out more about the Boston event here: http://www.moving-planet.org/events/us/boston/433
Posted by ahanscom at 6:59 PM
| Link
20 August 2011
Letter to the editor from SAFE President and Co-Chair, Jeffrey Barz-Snell
in the Salem News, August 19, 2011
Letter: Plenty to support idea of wind turbine at Winter Island
—
To the editor:
I attended the Aug. 16 meeting of the Salem Park & Recreation Commission and heard the presentation of the Winter Island Master Plan.
The Cecil Group did a good job presenting their comprehensive, long-range plan for the park, which includes much-needed renovations of the bathrooms, reconfiguring the parking areas, shoring up the dilapidated former Coast Guard hangar and barracks, and restoring and showcasing elements of Fort Pickering, the Colonial-era fort located at the eastern tip of the park. In addition, there were specific recommendations for improving footpaths and making the island on the whole more accessible and usable all year-round. The plan even called for a wind turbine, to be situated on the westernmost tip of the peninsula, near the harbormaster's office.
As we all know, such plans have costs — in this case an estimated $10 million, not including a wind turbine. Given Salem's current financial challenges and the imminent loss of its largest taxpayer in the next 24 months (Salem Harbor Station), the city will need new sources of revenue in order even to have a chance of implementing this wonderful vision for Winter Island. I do hope city leaders and residents will therefore consider very seriously the proposal to install a wind turbine at Winter Island, the single most windy, city-owned property in Salem.
The Renewable Energy Task Force has spent the last three years studying potential sites for wind power in Salem and recently completed a state-funded, yearlong wind study of Winter Island. As a result, the mayor recently proposed the installation of a 1.5 MW wind turbine on the island.
This would become a distinctly 21st-century symbol for Salem (instead of the smokestacks), one that harkens back to Salem's great age of sail. The turbine would also generate an estimated $500,000 or more in revenue for the city, reducing our $1 million-plus power bill by 50 percent. It is a prudent investment with an eight-year payback and would provide Salem with a source of local power and a hedge against future energy price increases. In addition, for those who take seriously the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change and the urgent necessity of industrialized countries like the U.S. to reduce our emissions by 80 percent or more in the next 40 years, this one turbine would significantly reduce Salem's carbon footprint. It is the shape of things to come.
Winter Island is one of two city-owned sites with sufficient wind resources to support a turbine (the other being Forest River Park) and is the ONLY site that is far enough away from homes so as to not have any impacts based on shadows or noise. (See the city's website for the studies on these issues.)
Communities like Hull and Bourne on the South Shore have turbines next to parks and schools that are much closer to residences than what is being proposed here in Salem. Despite what some folks locally are claiming, there are excellent examples in our state of communities like Salem embracing and benefiting from wind power. Take a drive to Hull, another densely populated seaside town in our state, and see for yourself.
I sincerely hope voters and leaders of Salem will rationally review the objective facts, consider the interests of the entire city, and then support the common-sense proposal the mayor is putting forth for a wind turbine at Winter Island. When faced with the multiple challenges of shrinking tax bases, increasing energy costs, reducing our carbon footprint and the long-term needs of our beloved seaside park, "the answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind" — literally.
Jeff Barz-Snell
Salem
Posted by ahanscom at 7:00 PM
| Link
15 August 2011
A page of pro-wind letters to the editor
from the August 13 Salem News
-
- Letter: Plenty going on IMBY
To the editor:
Many Winter island wind supporters are pulling the NIMBY card out on the Willows neighborhood. Well, let's see now. These are the things that we live with In My Back Yard or IMBY: Salem power plant; SESD; Willows Park, with its arcade, concerts and general noise and odors; Winter Island Park with the RV traffic, wood smoke and noise; and I can't count how many road races and charity fund walks that block traffic so we can not get to or back to our homes.
Aug 13, 2011 5:00 am
- Letter: Willows resident supports turbine plan
To the editor:
All wind turbines are not the same. The Boston Herald has made much of the noise problems with the older turbines in Falmouth whose rotational speed is controlled with a braking mechanism and gear box at their hubs. The Falmouth turbines did not employ the latest technology — even in 2006 when they were installed. We have learned from Falmouth.
Aug 13, 2011 5:00 am
- Letter: Turbine would be an exciting development
To the editor:
I want to thank The Salem News for its coverage of developments around the proposed wind turbine on Winter Island, and for its poll on this, where I proudly voted yes — yes, Winter Island is the right place for a wind turbine. I am confident concerns can be dealt with, and that technologies have advanced to the point that quiet, safe functioning is attainable.
Aug 13, 2011 5:00 am
- Brian T. Watson: Winter Island wind turbine would be a good fit
Change is often difficult, and as our society struggles mightily to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels — oil, coal, natural gas and gasoline — we see time and time again how difficult will be a comprehensive transition to an economy propelled largely with renewable energy sources.
Aug 13, 2011 5:00 am
- Letter: Worries about birds overstated
To the editor:
In his Aug. 5 letter about the proposed wind turbine for Winter Island, former Mayor Salvo wrote, "many migrating birds will be killed by the blades of the turbine." This is a distressing thought, but I believe I can set Mr. Salvo's mind at ease in this regard. As a graduate student studying Environmental Management at Harvard Extension School, I learned that the myth of turbines killing birds was largely caused by the Altamont Pass wind farm, built in California in 1981. Altamont's turbines were completely different than those built today. They were shaped more like egg beaters, with vertical blades reaching close to the ground, and were spaced close together. Turbine design has improved greatly since then, and by 2006 the average turbine outside California was likely to cause only an average of 1.83 total bird deaths per year. To put this in perspective (if even one bird death sounds like too many), this is only 0.01 percent to 0.02 percent of all U.S. bird deaths caused by collisions with man-made structures—far below cell phone towers and glass buildings.
Aug 13, 2011 5:00 am
- Letter: Opponents offer no alternatives
To the editor:
The recent hearing on wind power in Salem was fraught with differences. Anger was in the air. The not-in-my-backyard crowd was there in full force. While understandably they opposed unsightly whirring turbines out their windows, Salem is about to lose a substantial tax rate from a local coal-fired power plant. I hear of no alternative from the opposition. The message was just no wind power in my backyard.
If wind power is not a satisfactory replacement in the community with a diminished tax base then the question should be put to them what is their alternative that could benefit the community as a whole?
The point I make as an air breather and clean-environment seeker is to maintain a policy of possible trade-offs when up against strong obstructionists. It should be put to them what's their alternative that would benefit the community as a whole. This presses them to find a response and keeps them on the defensive repeatedly. This scheme may not always succeed but I believe it is a good policy for the long run.
Aug 13, 2011 5:00 am
Posted by ahanscom at 7:44 PM
| Link
27 July 2011
from SAFE Co-Chair, Pat Gozemba:
Next meeting of the Friends of Winter Island
Broad Street in Salem, the Council on Aging Building
Please come and support Winter Island. It’s a treasure!
--Patricia A. Gozemba
Posted by ahanscom at 7:00 PM
| Link
24 July 2011
from Atlantic Wind Connection:
"America needs an offshore wind energy industry off the Mid-Atlantic states."
"America needs an offshore wind energy industry off the Mid-Atlantic states. This emerging industry will create thousands of jobs and improve consumer access to clean energy sources...."
Posted by ahanscom at 7:52 PM
| Link
24 July 2011
Winter Island Wind Facebook page
Posted by ahanscom at 7:48 PM
| Link
24 July 2011
Opinion page in the Salem News, July 18, 2011
"Island upgrade next step for Salem port plan"
"A recent focus of efforts to improve the city's historic waterfront has been Winter Island, the much-used but still rather forlorn-looking peninsula at the entrance to Salem Harbor.
"Following months of study and discussion, Boston-based planner Steven G. Cecil rolled out his firm's vision for the property at a meeting of The Salem Partnership on Friday.
"The plan is conservative in some respects, emphasizing recreation over the commercialization of the site, but ambitious in others, such as suggesting the construction of a wind turbine at the southwest corner of the property (facing the power plant) that might help fund needed improvements that, if fully implemented, could cost up to $10 million...."
Posted by ahanscom at 7:46 PM
| Link
24 July 2011
The Regional Impact of Mining in Colombia: Labor, Environment, and Communities
(where the coal for Salem Harbor Generation Station has come from)
From: Avi Chomsky, Professor of History and Coordinator of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies, Salem State College
“...as a result of this summer’s delegation, we’ve been working on organizing a conference on The Regional Impact of Mining in Colombia: Labor, Environment, and Communities. There is a lot of exciting organizing going on both at the local level and the national level, and it seemed to everyone like a propitious moment to bring together the different communities in La Guajira and Cesar, the unions, and the national coalitions and organizations working to defend human, labor, and environmental rights in the mining sector.
“The conference will take place September 3-4 at the University of Santander in Valledupar. Witness for Peace and Indepaz are coordinating with the communities, the unions, and the Colombian organizations, and we’re working with organizations in Switzerland, Canada, Germany, and the US to bring people from different unions and solidarity organizations, and to fund some activists from Guatemala and maybe Brazil.
“If anyone is interested in coming to Colombia, meeting some of the amazing people involved in the struggles there, and being part of this event, let me know!”
Posted by ahanscom at 7:32 PM
| Link
24 July 2011
Winter Island Wind Public Forum
Learn more and join in a discussion about the City's proposed wind turbine project for Winter Island.
Scheduled for Tuesday, August 2 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm in the large 3rd floor conference room at City Hall Annex, 120 Washington St. Salem, MA.
RSVP on the Facebook page ... or just show up!
Posted by ahanscom at 7:19 PM
| Link
24 July 2011
File sent by Greenpeace to SAFE:
Examples of power plant site redevelopment
Posted by ahanscom at 7:07 PM
| Link
24 July 2011
from the Salem News:
Salem hopes to build wind tower on Winter Island
July 23, 2011
By Tom Dalton
Staff writer
“Although the wind project has been investigated for a few years, the first public forum is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 2, at 120 Washington St., the City Hall annex.
“A consultant working with the city's Renewable Energy Task Force recently completed a study based on a one-year wind test on Winter Island. Meridian Associates of Beverly concluded that ‘the site selected for this feasibility study appeared to have sufficient wind to be considered a financially feasible on-site wind generation project….’”
Posted by ahanscom at 6:52 PM
| Link
23 July 2011
Green Salem Business Challenge
from the City of Salem
Enrollment in the 2011 Green Salem Business Challenge is now open!
The Green Salem Business Challenge (GSBC) is designed to promote sustainable business practices within the local business community, to establish a standard of excellence for local green businesses, and ultimately to develop a rating system that allows consumers to gauge the relative "greenness" of a local business.
[click link above for more info]
Posted by ahanscom at 12:00 AM
| Link
23 July 2011
Mayor Bloomberg gives $50 million to fight coal-fired power plants
from the Washington Post
"New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced Thursday that he will donate $50 million to the Sierra Club to support its nationwide campaign to eliminate coal-fired power plants.
Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune described the gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies, to be spread over four years, as 'a game-changer, from our perspective.' The group will devote the money to its Beyond Coal campaign, which has helped block the construction of 153 new coal-fired power plants across the country since 2002. The campaign will expand from 15 to 45 states, plus the District of Columbia."
Posted by ahanscom at 12:00 AM
| Link
|
Follow us on 
