Some residents see red over 'green' turbine plan

Jan 30 - Patriot Ledger, The; Quincy, Mass.

Some residents are finding that it's not so easy going green.

The proposed construction of a 120-foot-tall wind turbine on the grounds of the new Whitman-Hanson Regional High School remains controversial for several area residents. A meeting of the Hanson Zoning Bylaw Committee last night left the issue unresolved. "The wind turbine will serve mainly for educational purposes," said Jim Armstrong, chairman of the Whitman-Hanson school building committee. "Students will be able to monitor wind speed and energy production at computers right in their classrooms."

The turbine is expected to provide 1 percent of the school's energy needs, but some are still not sold on the idea. "I'm not against wind turbines or alternative energy," said Renee Smith, a resident of Catherine Road, which is near the new school, "but it was not mentioned when we approved construction of the high school. I feel misled and deceived."

The turbine is part of a "green building" approach to the construction of the new school. The school received a $500,000 grant from the state's Massachusetts Technology Collaborative under its Green Schools Initiative. In addition to the planned turbine, the school will use solar-powered energy cells. Devices on the roof will collect rain water, which will be used for the school's toilets.

Armstrong said the idea for the turbine came from some of the school's students, who conducted a feasibility study for the turbine. He believes that opponents to the project need to put it in perspective. "People have been comparing this to the turbine (at Pemberton Point) in Hull," Armstrong said, "but this isn't much more than a glorified science experiment."

He added that the looming 165-foot-tall, 660-kilowatt turbine in Hull is a far larger than the proposed 120-foot, 10-kilowatt one for the Whitman-Hanson school grounds. Armstrong said that the turbine was not part of the original plan for the school, which Whitman and Hanson residents overwhelmingly approved in 2002. The new school is expected to be completed in August 2005. Armstrong emphasized, however, that the school building committee has addressed the concerns of area residents, specifically those on the neighboring streets of Catherine Road, Birchbark Drive and Franklin Street. The height of the proposed turbine has been lowered 10 to 20 feet, and a site farthest from properties on all three streets was chosen.

Some say it's still too close.

"It's basically in my back yard. I'll have a clear view of it," said Darlene Sebastyn of Catherine Road. She and Smith were unconvinced by diagrams presented at last night's meeting, which show that trees should help block views of the turbine. "That's not going to be the case for four or five months in the year when the trees are bare," Smith argued. Previous concerns about noise levels were addressed at the meeting. The school building committee determined that within a 200-foot radius, noise levels would be raised only five decibels with no noticeable noise beyond that point. The closest residence, on Catherine Road, is 690 feet from the proposed turbine. A final decision on whether to allow the turbine is expected to be made at a Feb. 17 meeting of the zoning bylaw committee, when questions of safety are to be addressed.