Wind turbine not as great as it seems

To the Editor;

I was just going through the Feb. 15 issue of the Dartmouth-Cole Harbour Weekly News when I saw the picture of the moose with the windmill in the background on page 6.

While it is a fact that this is one of the area's few wind turbines and that they may be popping up throughout HRM, as a resident that lives near this wind generator, I would invite you to come and stay at my place for an evening when the wind is blowing and you can hear for yourself the noise that this ill-placed, and poorly designed wind generator makes.

I suspect you would not want one anywhere near your place after that experience.

The picture, which appears to have been taken on a nice calm day, alludes to a clean form of power generation, but no one seems to take into account noise pollution.

The house that is attached to this noise generator has never been lived in by the builder, and most likely won't be. Who would want to live next to this kind of racket?

Although I agree wind power may be a good alternative to burning fossil fuels, these generators need to be properly regulated when installed in populated areas.

It would truly be sad if your readers see that photo and decide to just install a wind generator regardless of the negative impact on the neighbours, as has been done here.

The other sad fact is that HRM requires a permit to erect one of these units, but when there are problems with the installation, as is the case here, HRM says they have no control as there are no regulations in place to follow.

In conclusion, I would sure like to see the editor do a follow up to this photo and publish an article explaining some of the pitfalls that the local residences, and the Cow Bay Moose have observed from his prime vantage point.

Wind power is a good thing, provided it is done properly and with due consideration given to the residents. This generator could be coming to a site near you and you will not be impressed, I assure you.

Bill Falconer

Cow Bay Road