In 2013-2014 various wind projects were proposed in the Newfound Lake area. A previous project, Groton Wind, mobilized opposition to more projects. At the time, I owned property on the flank of Mt. Cardigan and one of the projects would be a few miles from the yurt my wife erected on the property.
Some of the files here are documents I produced in opposition to the projects or are from other sources, those are mostly of historical interest. I hope to add a lot more about the infrasound NH turbines generate and how it changes during the course of the night.
Most of the other files are images collected along the way, with links to various related web sites.
A project in Antrim, was initiated and built by Antrim Wind Energy, LLC. It was then sold to Transalta, which "owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia."
Ever since it began operation, residents have complained about its noise and essentially non-functional Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS). The NH Site Evaluation Committee which authorized the project and granted its a "Certificate of Operation" formed a subcommittee to review complaints received through 2021. The subcommittee's docket holds the public record of its activity and dialog with the company and lawyers. Be sure to follow the comments link as many comments by the public (and more) were relegated there.
I gradually became more involved in the review, primarily due to my interest in noise issues. Here are links related to my involvement.
[2023 May 1] Critique, Comments, and Weather: a review of the Rand and HMMH sound studies
There were two studies of turbine noise submitted to the subcommittee, one by Rand Acoustics chartered by neighbors and other members of the public, and one from Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc (HMMH). The Rand study found and reviewed two events that woke up residents after midnight, the HMMH study found none.
I looked at the findings and analyzed the weather conditions based on weather maps and temperature trends. I concluded that the Rand report is is far more useful than the HMMH report. I also described how sound is refracted, much as we see visual effects in sunsets or on hot pavement. That's a key aspect of why the Rand events woke up residents.
[2023 May 15] Oral notes for May 15th
My analysis was in response to the HMMH report. It and other matters were discussed at a public meeting two weeks later, and members of the public were granted two minutes to comment before the subcommittee addressed the HMMH report. I used the time to express my diappointment that the Rand report was essentially ignored, my disappointment in the selection of dates studied by HMMH, that the didn't study times like the conditions Rand found, and that I would be disappointed if the subcommittee accepted the HMMH report.
They accepted it unanimously.
[2023 June 4] "My Turn" opinion piece submitted to the Concord Monitor
I submitted this in hopes of being able to reach a wider audience to explain the above. The
Monitor accepted it, added the file photo of some Antrim turbines, and in the online version
incorporated some of links I included in:
[2023 June 4] References and
support for the My Turn submission
To ease fact checking on my submission, I included a section with both the text I quoted
and my claims and provided references to their source or more material. Most won't print
in the Monitor, so I'll include it here.
[2023 June 7]
Oral notes for June
7th
The June 7th hearing included time to make a two minute statement. I took advantage of it
to describe how flawed the subcommittee order was, noted what the committee didn't hear,
and that complaints will continue.
[2023 June 9] Comments on the
NH Sec Meeting of 2023 June 7
The SEC surprised me - they asked many more questions about the HMMH report than the
subcommittee had. Instead of the unanimous rubber stamp I expected, they accepted it 5-3.
Had I known they would do that I would have changed my testimony significantly to be more
substantive than a lament. They directed the questions to the professionals from Antrim,
though on some topics I would have given better answers.
Therefore, I wrote this document a couple days later to be distributed to the SEC to provide those answers. It had no chance to change the outcome. However, as one of the items in the order was a recommendation to "encourage complainants to submit objective evidence to substantiate the complaint if any exist." For noise complaints, that sounds nearly like requiring the data collected by the acousticians. Fortunately, we have that data in the Rand report. I hope it does get accepted as part of the post-2021 complaints.
Wind in NH presentation
This is a bit dated, but some of the slides are are still good.
SEC-appt.pdf and SEC-appt2.pdf
These are letters I wrote complaining about "public member" nominations to the then new Site
Evaluation Committee (SEC). Nominees were Senator Odell and Representative Merrill - elected
officials, hardly interested members of the public. Perhaps interested in the public, but I
had some doubts.
2009's Why is the Wind Speed Decreasing? describes a couple possible reasons why wind speed has decreased at Massachusett's Blue Hill Weather Observatory since 1980. Their suggestion of vegetation growth is not convincing to me. In their State of the Climate at Blue Hill Observatory:1885-2022 they drop that and expand on changes in wind patterns:
One of the most dramatic changes in any climate parameter measured at Blue Hill is the steady drop in the annual mean wind speed in recent decades as shown in Figure 10 (above). A slow decline in the 10-year mean annual wind speed (blue) that began in the 1940's became a sharper, steady drop after 1980, falling nearly 20 percent from 6.7 m/s (15.0 mph) in that year to 5.4m/s (12.1mph) recently, and a new record low annual wind speed of 11.5 mph was set in 2021. The cause of the decline remains under investigation, though it may be related to the shifting of mid-latitude storm tracks and their higher winds to higher latitudes, or to the poleward expansion of the lower wind speeds associated with the tropics. This so-called global stilling is consistent with wind speed changes at other locations across North America and Europe in recent decades, though is nowhere seen more dramatically than in the Blue Hill annual wind speed record.
While that 15.0 mph to 12.1 mph decline in velocity is remarkable, wind energy varies with the cube of the velocity, and that is an astounding 48% decrease. I don't know if wind project developers are aware of this, I have seen reports that wind projects have not produced as much power as expected.
Here is the most recent graph.
I think this is the most important photograph taken in the history of industrial wind. It shows how much and how far downwind turbines can disrupt air flow. The turbulence adds stress to those, the breadth suggests the reduction in wind speed and hence available energy.
Wind Farm Wake: The Horns Rev Photo Case, a paper analyzing the wake and clouds.
See also:
Windbreaks, surprisingly, could help wind farms boost power output
This article is about simulations showing that windbreaks in front of wind
turbines can increase output. The associated .gif below shows a nice
simulation. For some reason, all the turbines are lined up, much like the
Vattenfall photo above. That was presented as an important reason to keep turbines
out of the wakes of others!
In the wake of a wind turbine, a press release from NOAA et al about a sponsored study to look at wakes and bearing damage. This has some high resolution photos.
In the wake of the wind, a LLNL press release about a the same study.
A study in Iowa looking at surface effects of wind turbine wake turbulence and documenting warming and wind impact at night at ground level. This leads to surface drying at night.
Wind turbines Wake Turbulence and Separation, a technical paper with windtunnel and other studies.
See also:
Record high temperatures far outpace record lows across U.S., a 2009 report looking at data from January 1950 to September 2009.
8112 Hearing Witness Testimony Christy, John Christy's testimony from 2012 to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Why NCAR's Meehl paper on high/low temperature records is bunk
[Yes, this too.] Roy Spencer compared 44 climate models against the two satellite temperature records and the models are expecting global warming. Observations show the last decade is actually cooling slightly.
Global Warming Slowdown: The View from Space, this is Roy Spencer's blog post about the comparison.
It's amazing the bitching and complaining I read on this post about the turbines on that mountain range...but.... yet....I certainly don't read any suggestions from internet tough guys of ideas that would be better than non fossil fuel ideas... You're certainly not complaining that the energy they produce is keeping you warm and fed.. shut the hell up!!!! Unless you have a better plan
So I replied with three links to environmentalists with their recommendations for nuclear energy over renewables:
Patrick Moore: "We have no reason
to be against nuclear energy other than prejudice & stupidity"
YouTube video, Patrick Moore is one of the original founders of Greenpeace, something that
the current leadership of Greenpeace has tried to write out of its history.
Michael Shellenberger: Why I
changed my mind about nuclear power
Another YouTube video, a TEDx talk from Berlin. Shellenberger goes back to hippie days in
the Bay area and Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog (I have one!).
Bjorn
Lomborg: "Nuclear has a lot going for it while net zero will simply not happen"
This is a transcript of an interview with City A.M. of London, England.
"Wind porn" is photos of wind turbines that the wind industry would rather we not see.
While NH turbines are usually firmly attached to bedrock, those in flatlands generally are not. There's a lot of torque on the base of those towers and some blow down, e.g. (Click for bigger images)
Contact Ric Werme or return to his home page.
Written 2021 Oct 23, last updated 2023 July 27.