Published: 9/28/2020 12:02:11 PM
I read with great interest “The power of wind” point of view (Sept. 21) by Allie McCandless. The writer enthusiastically defends the Vineyard Wind Project as one that will launch Massachusetts “into a clean future.”
In fact, the Vineyard Wind project has raised considerable opposition among conservationists. The 84 projected wind turbines would install two 220,000-volt alternative current submarine cables, seriously disturbing the underwater ecosystem and the fishing industry by generating heat, noise and possibly disturbing the electromagnetic field.
The project would further endanger several whale species that migrate through these waters, chief among them the Northern Atlantic right whale, one of the world’s most endangered. Contrary to what has been recently argued without valid support, turbines placed among coastal migration routes have caused substantial damage to an already declining bird population. Finally, human population on neighboring islands will be seriously affected by infra-sounds and both audible and low-frequency noise.
There is a powerful lobby behind the wind turbine industry. There is also a growing worldwide conservation movement that has taken stock of the issues caused by already installed wind turbines and has opposed the installation of new ones as an ecologically viable solution to energy needs.
For more information, I recommend a visit to aweo.org/problemwithwind.html, as well as an article on waste problems caused by the turbines in the February 2020 issue of Fortune magazine. Last, I believe ecological concerns, unlike the ACC, should be free of political ties.
Marie Huet
Whately