No easy fix to turbine complaints
Fox Islands Wind CEO George Baker said his experts reviewed the same data and concluded that the three turbines do not violate state standards.
State law sets a 45-decibel limit. Fox Islands believes the discrepancy lies with naturally occurring ambient noises such as winds rustling through the trees, not the turbines themselves.
"There's a disagreement among the experts about what the data says is going on," Baker told The Associated Press.
Baker said it will be a difficult issue to resolve.
Even if experts conclude the wind turbines are to blame, slowing the turbine blades to lower the noise level by a couple of decibels may not appease critics, Baker said.
Meanwhile, slowing the blades too much could counteract the project's goal of reducing electric rates, which have been lowered by 5 cents per kilowatt hour on Vinalhaven and North Haven islands, Baker said.
"The turbines can simply be turned down more. The consequence is that they produce less electricity at night, and electric rates on the islands will go up," he said.
Art Lindgren, a critic who lives a half-mile from the turbines, said Fox Islands Wind has refused to open its books to prove how much money is actually being saved.
Transmission companies are required to open their books to the Maine Public Utilities Commission. But there's no such requirement for electricity producers like privately owned Fox Islands Wind. Baker said he opened his books to islanders in December, but his lawyers advised against doing it again because of threats of litigation.
As for the noise, Lindgren said it has ruined the value of his property.
"It doesn't matter what I think about the noise. I'm a homeowner. It matters what a prospective buyer might think about the turbines," he said. "My property is worthless now."
Related News

Canadian Gov't and PEI invest in new transmission line to support wind energy production
CHARLOTTETOWN - The health and well-being of Canadians are the top priorities of the Governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island. But the COVID-19 pandemic has affected more than Canadians' personal health. It is having a profound effect on the economy.
That is why governments have been taking decisive action together to support families, businesses and communities, and continue to look ahead to see what more can be done.
Today, Bobby Morrissey, Member of Parliament for Egmont, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Dennis King, Premier of Prince Edward Island, the Honourable Dennis King,…