We, the residents, homeowners, and business owners of Middleburgh, NY and nearby affected towns, are opposed to the construction of large-scale industrial wind turbines in our town. These turbines will lower our property values, ruin our scenic views, kill wildlife, and have negative effects on the environment, tourism, and the health of residents living near them.

We hereby ask the Town Board of Middleburgh, NY to amend the zoning laws and take any and all other necessary measures so as to ensure that industrial wind turbines may not be built in our town.

Borrego Solar, Inc., a large private California-based company, is proposing to build two industrial wind turbines on Lawton Hollow Road in Middleburgh, NY. The turbines could be up to 790 feet in height similar to the Vestas V150 4.2MW turbine Borrego is proposing to build in the nearby town of Glen, NY. At that size, the turbines could be as high as 60-story skyscrapers.

Importantly, according to the company’s own representative, Borrego has never developed a wind energy project before.

As residents of Middleburgh, we believe the proposed industrial wind turbines will have several adverse effects:

1. Lower property values

Research has shown that homes within several miles of industrial wind turbines will lose value. Adjoining homeowners could see their property's value diminish by over 50%. Any person buying a home will choose a home that is nowhere near a turbine if presented with similar choices. Members of Real Estate and Appraisal businesses have been clear that wind turbines lower property values.

2. Negative impact on our hills and on tourism

The surrounding hills of Middleburgh are one of the most beautiful aspects of our town. Our hills also draw tourists from around the United States. Turbines could be visible from 15 miles away ruining the idyllic nature of our town. Industrializing our views will decrease tourism, affecting small and large businesses - such as shops, restaurants, and real estate sales. Night skies will include blinking and continuous lighting (required by the FAA for safe aerial navigation) creating visual pollution.

3. Damage to wildlife and their habitats

Harm or death to birds (such as eagles, hawks) and bats will occur. It is estimated that many thousands such deaths and injuries occur each year in the United States.

4. Environmental hazards

The fiberglass turbine blades only have an average 20 year lifespan and disposal of each 240 foot turbine blade (3 per turbine) usually leads to them being buried in the ground. Leakage of hazardous materials such as oil from turbines is not uncommon. Each turbine could hold up to 600 gallons of oil and hydraulic fluids that could accidentally seep out and contaminate our ground water, in an area where most residences and farms have private wells. Installation and transport of industrial turbines require the widening of roads, clear cutting of forest for access roads and platforms, and the pouring of dozens of truckloads of concrete to secure the foundations that could be 20 feet thick and 60 feet in diameter. 

5. Health problems and the "Flicker" Effect

Researchers have established a link between wind turbines and symptoms on area residents such as migraines, earaches, tinnitus, eye pressure, dizziness, nausea, depression and sleeplessness. The turbines emit low-frequency sound waves which stimulate parts of the inner ear responsible for balance, motion and spatial orientation. They provoke symptoms similar to motion sickness and when operating create constant sound pollution. The "Flicker Effect" can destroy a homeowner's quality of life for several hours a day. Shadow flicker is the effect caused on a home when the sun shines through the rotating blades of a wind turbine, casting a moving shadow. It will be perceived as a “flicker” due to the rotating blades repeatedly casting the shadow, which feels like the lights being turned off and on in your house every few seconds.

Please sign the petition and join our efforts to keep industrial wind turbines out of Middleburgh, NY.