The town of Scituate has seen many changes over the past year, but one of the biggest differences is the new wind turbine on the driftway. The turbine was placed on the driftway in April of this year and since then the dispute has not stopped over whether it has hurt or helped the Scituate community.
Some felt the turbine disrupted the seaside landscape of Scituate, but the majority have embraced it as a part of the town and have welcomed its environmentally friendly effects. Many people however are unaware of the negative health effects some have faced since the installation of the turbine.
People around town claim to have experienced include dizziness, vertigo, ringing in ears, headaches, nausea, and insomnia. The wind turbine is just one step in the town’s efforts to become greener. Some wonder however if it’s worth decreased living conditions in order to produce more energy in a “green” way.
The wind turbine is just one part of the town’s extensive effort to be more energy efficient and green friendly. According to the town hall website the program “Solarize Mass” intends to install solar panels in Scituate which will save over 600 tons of CO2 throughout Massachusetts annually. The wind turbine can only add to this effort.
Senior Nikki Begnal lives relatively close to the windmill in Scituate and feels that the windmill is nothing but an asset to the community. “I think the windmill is a positive thing. It is giving us clean energy, which will be better for us down the road. When I went to Maui they had hundreds of them all over the island, so I don’t think one is horrible. It isn’t a huge eye sore for me either, I think it shows that Scituate is moving forward with new technology,” she said. “I was on third cliff once babysitting and I could hear it, but the government is allowed to put these things in place, so people should be aware of that.”
According to the Mariner, the windmill is estimated to produce 4,295,200 kWh of renewable energy. The town does not directly receive the electricity produced by the turbine; the energy produced is equivalent to half the town’s municipal needs. The energy produced by the turbine is equal to taking about approximately 600 cars off the road, 330,00 gallons of oil are saved, and 6.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
Senior Melissa Harris said, “If the people opposing the windmill only knew how much money it is giving us every day, I believe they wouldn’t worry so much about a ‘little bit of noise’ at night.”
The windmill has and cons for our town. It is up to the community to decide if the benefits of renewable energy are worth the late night hum of the wind.