In November 2009, the Town of Dixmont, just north of Jackson and about a mile from our land, adopted an ordinance requiring a mile setback of industrial wind turbines from homes. The yea’s won by a margin of about 3 to 1!
On February 6, 2010, Jackson voters approved a strong ordinance as well, 111 for, 74 against. The Jackson ordinance requires industrial turbines to be set back 13X turbine height from property lines. In the case of a 400-foot turbine, this is about a mile.
So we are going back to our “regular” lives! We remain vigilant for some surprise moves by our Selectmen prior to our annual town meeting on March 20, but it appears that the townspeople have spoken: Wind turbines ok, but protect your neighbors first.
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Industrial wind is targeting Jackson’s ridges and those in surrounding towns. Wind power is touted, without much examination, by environmental groups and progressives as the thing that will save us from global warming. This has enabled corporate interests to railroad Maine towns into giving up their pristine ridges with the promise of tax dollars which, in most cases, have not materialized.
Meanwhile, the turbines are noisy and cause significant health problems among those living close to the turbines (within a mile or so). Property values go down and there is no compensation. And it turns out that wind power will actually contribute a very small amount to offsetting CO2 emissions. It will do this at a very high monetary and social cost, and will contribute far, far less than efficiency and conservation.
Trying to better understand the implications of industrial wind power and ensure more information gets out to the community has consumed a lot of our time over the past year. The good news is that we have met a lot of great people from all walks of life and of all political stripes.
We’ve published 10 issues of Fair Wind, with our neighborly rebels, Bill and Kathleen Maseychik. It is mailed to all Jackson residents. Our Selectmen hate it. All issues are available at the right sidebar.
For more information on industrial wind, go to these web sites:
National Wind Watch
Industrial Wind Action Group
Better Plan Wisconsin
AUDIO
Sound engineer Robert Rand´s presentation to Jackson Planning Board. Includes recording of typical turbine noise from inside a house. LISTEN
Dixmont “stacked panel” information meeting, Oct. 19. 2009. LISTEN
Participants: Judy Dann (Selectman, introduction only), Garnett Robinson and Jeff Emory (Dixmont Planning Board), Ron Price (Freedom turbine leaseholder), Andy Price (CES), Mick Womersley (Unity College)
