Editor’s note: This commentary is by Melodie McLane, who is a neighbor of the Georgia Mountain Community Wind project.
[D]avid Blittersdorf has provided Georgia Mountain neighbors with several weeks’ worth of eerie screaming on Georgia Mountain. The screaming has been attributed to a damaged blade on one of his turbines by various noise experts who have listened to audio recordings of the noise.
We remind David Blittersdorf of a statement that he made in a story in VTDigger regarding the recent icing violations incurred by his project:
“’Looking forward, GMCW will participate with the other parties in the next phase of the PSB proceeding, and as always will look for ways that the Project can continue to be a good neighbor and to provide important benefits to Vermont,’ Blittersdorf said in a statement.”
We stood outside on a dark cold night and took audio recordings of the screaming turbine to submit with a complaint on Oct. 9, to the Department of Public Service. We described the noise as a high-pitched “whistling” as the blade turns. One of our boys has since more aptly described the noise as a “woman screaming on the mountain,” so we now almost affectionately (rolling our eyes) call it the “screaming turbine.”
We waited patiently for the response.
This screaming is not due to operational or changes in software that may have been implemented. It’s a noise that we have never heard before.
A good neighbor would have responded on the day of the complaint. A good neighbor would have stood at the end of our driveway and listened to the screaming and admitted that there is a problem. A good neighbor would have shut down the screaming turbine and fixed it.
David Blittersdorf’s spokesperson, Martha Staskus, waited the full allowed 14 days to respond. “During the period of the landowner’s concern, no operational changes or changes in software have been implemented. The Goldwind site operations team completed site inspections the week of 10-17 to ensure no issues were present with the operations of the turbines that would generate additional noise. Goldwind has determined that the turbines are operating as normal.” No mention of the possibility of a damaged blade, as questioned by the person at the Department of Public Service assigned to our case.
After living next to this project for four years we have learned a few things about noise emitting from the turbines. This screaming is not due to operational or changes in software that may have been implemented. It’s a noise that we have never heard before. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or Goldwind site operations team) to listen to the screaming and realize that something isn’t right.
David Blittersdorf allows the screaming turbine to turn, while the Department of Public Service continues to investigate. The screaming turbine continues to make him money; the state of Vermont continues to spend money, investigating our complaint.
We will stand out in the cold dark night and get more audio recordings to send to the Department of Public Service, keeping our communication polite, yet persistent, and perhaps one day David Blittersdorf will be forced to fix the screaming turbine.
David Blittersdorf will most likely respond to this as he often has in the past, that “we are just the complainers.” Admittedly, we are the complainers, because we are one of several homes that are the closest to his project, thus the most adversely affected by noise emitted from his project. We just happen to be the spokesperson for these close neighbors who do not have access to email. Guilty, bad little neighbors (rolling our eyes again).
We will patiently wait for the day when David Blittersdorf begins to treat the neighbors on Georgia Mountain like people, not collateral damage in his quest to be the hero and save the world, making millions of dollars along the way.
