To the Editor:

In response to “Wind Power: Positives Outweigh the Negatives” which appeared in the May 31 - June 6 issue of North Country This Week: The concern regarding flicker from sunlight reflecting off the blades has been the focus of many studies. These were done before and during the process of siting wind turbines to minimize any possible impact.

According to a 2017 AWEA face sheet, shadow flicker typically lasts just a few minutes near sunrise and sunset. The rate at which wind turbine shadow flickers is far below the frequency that, according to the Epilepsy Foundation, is normally associated with seizures.

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change concluded in a study that the strobe rates generally necessary to cause seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy are 5-30 flashes per second.

Utility scale wind turbine blades cannot rotate this quickly.

The concern regarding PILOT’S and taxes -- PILOT’S are often used and are not exclusive to the wind industry. A PILOT benefits the taxing jurisdictions by offering stable revenue for many years that they can count on and budget for. This would increase annually and the wind company would be one of the largest taxpayers in the towns.

All forms of electrical generation receive some sort of subsidy. The Production Tax Credit simply levels the playing field for the wind industry and is based solely on production.

The concern regarding turbines being inefficient- According to the Department of Energy, wind power is cost-effective. It is one of the lowest-cost renewable energy technologies available today.

Power prices offered by newly built wind farms average 2 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on the wind resource and the particular project’s financing. Even without government subsidies, wind power is a low-cost fuel in many areas of the country.

In 2016 the wind energy sector invested more than $8.8 billion of private capital in the U.S. economy to build projects. They also employed more than 101,000 workers (approximately 30% women, 11% veterans and 25% minority) according to 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report.

Wind power produced 7.4 billion a year in public health savings in 2016 by cutting pollutants that create smog, trigger asthma attacks and other lung diseases, according to Harvard School of Public Health.

The concern regarding idle turbines- The average wind turbine generates electricity 90% of the time and modern wind farms often have capacity factors exceeding 40%. That number is close to coal plants and exceeds some types of natural gas plants. A diversified power system makes sense.

Grid operators can balance out the system as supply and demand fluctuate. Changes in wind output are gradual and can be predicted many hours or even days in advance. This is unlike conventional plants which go offline suddenly and unexpectedly. Fact check by “Into the Wind”, AWEA: The electric grid relies on diversified sources.

The concern regarding transmission lines- Studies are done on transmission lines before any generating facility is built to ensure that there is sufficient room on the line. If there isn’t adequate space, upgrades would need to be made to accommodate the additional power.

Interesting facts: American Wind Energy Association, Washington DC. The average price of US wind power declined by 66% in the last 7 years. A study found that states with greater use of renewable energy have lower electric rates.

Over 500 factories in 43 states located in the U.S. are making wind turbine parts, according to AWAE. In addition, 60% of a wind farm is made in the United States.

Gail Kelly

Hopkinton