Clean power

Check out this story of two couples complaining about the whoosh sound of wind turbines recently installed on Vinalhaven, an island off Maine (click on headline): For Those Near, the Miserable Hum of Clean Energy

I love the 345 reader comments that follow the article. They run the gamut of opinions, but most suggest the buzz of local clean energy is a tolerable and necessary cost. I also like this use of the newspaper as a forum for input. (Two of my favorite comments are at the end of this post.)

In July, I sat under these turbines for an afternoon. They emitted a low machine hum and a breezy whoosh. ‘Hard to believe they can be heard half a mile away, but I can imagine it’s a new background vibration. Perhaps these complainers are lobbying for a settlement check or a home buyout by the electric cooperative (a few nearby homes were purchased before the project was installed).

Here’s a link to my photos of my afternoon at Vinalhaven’s wind turbines. Photos

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