Submitted Photo Pictured is an area on Baker Road, where Buttercup Wind LLC is looking to place a wind turbine farm, and where residents have started a petition against that construction.

NORTH HARMONY — A large company, Buttercup Wind LLC, is looking to potentially install multiple wind turbines on Baker Road in Ashville – and residents of that road and surrounding area have something to say about it.

Specifically, Buttercup Wind is looking to construct a monopole, tubular temporary meteorological wind tower, which can then lead to the construction of more wind turbines in the area following that. A public hearing for the town of North Harmony is set for tonight at 7 p.m. at the town building on 5350 Stow Road. Multiple members of the public and residents on Baker Road have started a petition that will be brought before the town board at the meeting, stating they are against the construction of these wind turbines.

Luke and Heather Waygood began the petition, along with some of their neighbors. While Luke Waygood is originally from England and moved to his house on Baker Road with Heather in 2014, he said he has seen it as a place where multiple generations of families live and stay. The draw to the area for him is not just the community but also the wildlife and nature of the area as well, something he said is one of many things set to be disrupted if this construction were to happen.

“The draw isn’t just the community and family, it’s the nature,” Luke Waygood said. “Wildlife is in abundance here — deer, wood chucks, wild turkeys, all manner of birds, snakes and occasionally the odd bear. As someone who’s lived in cities most of his life, I can’t tell you how amazing it is to be able to stand outside and see the stars blazing brightly, without the interference of city lights. You don’t get the blare of sirens, just the occasional siren from the volunteer fire station over in Panama. It’s nice to be able to have a small bonfire with family and friends, and play some tunes with my guitar.”

The first concerns came for the Waygoods over the summer when the company approached Heather Waygood’s mother about building turbines, which Luke Waygood said the representative that spoke with them said could be up to 10 turbines and be bigger than the ones at the wind farm in Arkwright. While he said he is not against renewable energy, there are things to be thought through when placing wind turbines in an area like Baker Road.

“From discussions that we have had with people we know who have lived in the vicinity of wind turbines in the past, the sound of them and the vibrations from them can be felt up to two miles away,” Luke Waygood said. “How much wildlife is going to want to stay around such disruption? One person we spoke with said that they could no longer sit outside so they eventually moved.”

Specific concerns outlined in the petition itself include; impact on local wildlife, decline in property values, noise pollution from the turbines while in operation, increased traffic and pollution from said traffic during the construction, as well as other potential impacts such as the construction of access roads and the laying of cables. The petition notes that while those who created it appreciate the use of renewable energy sources, the number of concerns this construction brings up make it a problem for Baker Road.

Additionally, Luke Waygood said while it might not seem so bad because it will cut the use of fossil fuels, an average wind turbine can use up to 80 gallons of oil per year, and his guess would be the ones planned to be built would take more than that. If any leaks or failures occur, Luke Waygood said that oil has the potential to go into the groundwater and creeks, once again jeopardizing not just the wildlife but those people still living here.

“The base to secure the turbine is usually concrete, the manufacture of which creates carbon dioxide, and even after it cures it continues to off-gas, as I understand it,” Luke Waygood said. “And let’s not be fooled into thinking that these companies are building them to protect the environment, it’s all about money. The representative, when we spoke with him, made no effort to hide the fact that, once it’s built, it provides free electricity which can be sold to the utility companies with fairly low maintenance costs. So for those thinking it may lower your utility bills, think again; it will not result in free or cheaper electricity to anyone in this area. What it will do is drive down your local property value, making it harder to sell as, let’s face it, who would willingly want to buy a house next to several giant turbines?”

Heather Waygood added to that, saying that nobody in the area will profit from this wind farm, with everything set to be shipped to big cities and benefit three specific places that have signed leases to be the ones to benefit.

“It’s important for me, personally, because I want to be able to go outside,” Heather Waygood said. “This will change everything we do around here, and for those who hunt, it will hurt them because the wildlife will be gone. They want to change things like putting in a new road, which will mean more people and potentially some people wandering through our properties. This is going to change everything about what our fathers envisioned when they came to this place, as a place to go to enjoy nature and family.”

The Waygoods encouraged everyone to come out to the meeting of the town of North Harmony’s zoning board of appeals, which is who will be holding tonight’s public hearing. At the meeting there is the potential for a variance to be approved for Buttercup Wind to construct their monopole, tubular temporary meteorological wind tower, and while Luke Waygood said temporary might not sound so bad, construction can take up to a year and then make things easier for plans to build the rest of the turbines to proceed. The petition that is being brought forth against this construction is both online in a Google Forms document and a paper copy can be signed at the Ashville General Store.

“It’s not what the state or county wants, it’s what the towns themselves want and so we’re bringing this petition to the town of North Harmony to tell them we don’t want this,” Heather Waygood said.