Next thing you know ... you won't be allowed to cut your grass with a power mower ....let's face it ....that makes a heck of a lot more noise than a wind turbine ....and every time I drive down Mitchell's Lane; I slow down and look at the two turbines .....
They are not too big and make no more noise than a rope and clasp hanging down a flagpole or wind chimes ........why don't we just ban that stuff as well .........

The difference is that one can turn off a power mower and regulate the hours of use (like many towns already do). Further acoustics - sound transmission takes on many forms. I support the zoning regulation and applaud the elected town officials for engaging in adult critical thinking. The off grid remote electrical generating solutions do not belong in high density neighborhoods. It would not exist with out an on going wealth redistribution social engineering taxes of both rate payers and tax payers. These WTG are in total less than 1.5% of output Vs electrical public utilities. Their very different / wide swings in electrical output profile are responsible for modulating all the traditional - continuations control derived power generation on the grid causing excessive emissions and thermal cycles. Such contributing to a decrease in efficiencies & shorting of life for equipment. The so called showcase home WTG exhibited in Middletown has already been removed for less than satisfactory outcome. Never the less the pseudo political cult of true believers continue to drink the kool-aid and subscribe to a wide range of counterfeit justifications . Just more pseudo political magic thinking - defective national energy policies. Must shortly be corrected eliminating the need for embracing an 18th century technologies that has a recent track record of failure in Europe. . It would take 660 1.5 - 3.5 mega watt class WTG to equate to only one modern gas turbine electrical generator..

Once again the council does what it wants. Does anyone have a problem with the fact that Semonelli lied about his meetiing with Mr. Byrne. He twisted the facts to favor his cause. When he was outed on that he fall back on an e mail from a woman who no longer lives here.
Then there is Viveiros, attacking Mr Hetland in the last meeting. What was it he said "you are here to promote wind turbines for the sole purpose of putting money in your pocket" . Shame on you Antone. Remember you work for the whole town as elected officials not a select few

I think it's ironic that they used a complaint about wind turbines on agricultural property to highlight the problem and generate support. Meanwhile, the ordinance has an exception for agricultural property.

Mr. Horan, it is possible to regulate the hours of operation of a wind turbine. Further, wind turbines don't generally function in high-density neighborhoods because they need a clear exposure to allow a smooth (laminar) flow of air to function efficiently. Generally, this is why they are put on hilltops, spaced somewhat far apart. In addition, there was just a study released the other day which highlighted the benefits of distributed micro-power generation. Currently, our grid utilizes large, isolated power generation plants connected to a wide distribution network. This leads to hot spots of pollution and major efficiency losses. The key to micro-power grids is properly synchronized grid connections. This requires quality power inverters plus adequate power storage plus a power grid management improvement which can respond to the sometimes rapid fluctuations in power use and generation. That said, it CAN be done.

I personally object to the outright restriction of wind turbines. I would much rather see a well written set of requirements which are enforced absolutely (no zoning/planning exceptions). That said, it's much easier for individuals, unqualified to make an informed decision, to pass a near-absolute restriction. No thinking required.

I agree with the concept of micropower generation but even smaller turbines have had unanticipated negative impacts on neighbors - often. When and if, the technology improves and standards are set for certification, then by-laws can be re-visited. So I applaud the Town for this by-law and hope that when proponents come forward they will have come with plans for promptly redressing any unforeseen problems. I am concerned about rapid rise in noise pollution in formerly quiet residential neighborhoods -- almost always connected with fossil fuel consumption. But note, the analogy to what some turbine neighbors hear would be closer to a lawn mower going over rocks, and not for 5 minutes, but 24/7.

What has been visibly taken place the past few months with members of the Middletown council is a disgrace to the citizens of Middletown! The public has come forward and stated we support wind power and other alternative energy sources. Shame on you Town Council! Listen to your people! So, I cant do any wind project, regarless of size with the land I own? No Votes for you clowns!!!!! You are outta there!

The so called showcase home WTG exhibited in Middletown has already been removed for less than satisfactory outcome. Never the less the pseudo political cult of true believers continue to drink the green kool-aid and subscribe to a wide range of counterfeit justifications . That is what they have chosen to embrace is Just more pseudo political magic thinking - defective national energy policies. that Must shortly be corrected, eliminating the need for embracing an 18th century technologies that has a recent track record of failure in Europe. . It would take 660 1.5 - 3.5 mega watt class WTG to equate to only one modern gas turbine electrical generator..This is a defective business model and a finical and technical failure that is popular only because of government subsidies via rate payer and tax payer seizure and redistribution of wealth. In our case a classic RI welfare industry suspended misery MO. This is bad for business and based on a counterfeit climate fable. Portsmouth still is unraveling the aftermath while Jamestown smelled the coffee in the nick of time.

Sad that Middletown has blown any chance she ever had to get it right: losing the EPA grant to clean up the Valley, encouraging commercial over-development, and now blindly banning clean wind energy. How ironic that our town seal is a windmill. I propose a new logo: the horizon-scarring twin towers of Brayton Point

And please, cut-and-paste coal lobby spambots, enough already.

The negative example is wrong? Brayton Point cooling twin towers is a recent modernizations at the 1.4 Gigawatt clean coal electrical generating facilities. The cooling towers are based on evaporation and emit a harmless water vapor - cloud. Hence the Mt Hope Bay is no longer heated by a hot water discharge (this is good for marine life. The cooling towers cooling loop is supplied by a public waste water treatment plant. The stack emissions at the plant have been significantly reduced and reclaimed for other mfg uses. This is technology driven improvement. The fuel over the years of operation changed with the international and domestic energy markets. Today a mix of powered coal and water is injected into the vertical boilers that were preheated by natural gas. Even with these improvements another disruptive technology and companion national energy market dynamics / natural gas. This drove the construction of stationary gas turbines spinning conventional electrical generators. Locally the Johnston RI 585 mega watt facility where two gas turbines and a companion steam turbine process the heat byproduct of the two gas turbines and finally again cooling towers supplied with treated sewer water. This method of electrical generation is even lower cost than clean coal! In contrast the pseudo political cult of true believers continues to embrace a European uneconomical WTG / solar with counterfeit justification. The RI PUC & Public Utility = predictable, reliable & affordable.

This is greed energy not green energy ! Watch the news Tuesday about the Portsmouth High School wind turbine. The gear box failed in the Portsmouth wind turbine .The wind industry knew since 2004 that these gear boxes fail before five years is up !

The towns like Portsmouth spent years researching wind turbines yet NO negative information finds its way to the town council .

These turbines have massive failure rates .The Templton,Massachusetts wind turbine failed about the same time as the Portsmouth wind turbine.

In Falmouth , Massachusetts over 50 residents became ill from infra sound. Recently Massachusetts towns of Fairhaven ,Scituate,Kingston and Plymouth have filed thousands of noise complaints !

You can't get thousands of people to tell the same story about noise and infra sound ! These large megawatt turbines take residential property rights !

Middletown Town Council let the data drive the timely & responsible decision. Today in contrast this Portsmouth WTG sure looks like a big mess. My thought is that both the RI GA EDC & PTS town council has a fiduciary responsibility to limit both the Portsmouth taxpayer & state wide tax payers and electrical rate payers liability and therefore must abandon this turbine ASAP..too many unknowns. An open-ended cost liability simply cannot be tolerated any longer.

The vested interests exhibit a cult like behavior of true believers while the data reflects a different reality. Throwing even more monies from any and all sources is an unworkable solution e.g. a historical flawed European WTG socialist mentality. Look at the mess in Princeton Mass with a similar WTG!
Where is the leadership e.g. critical thinking or timely action?