Neighbors fight windmill

The New York Times has a story about a guy in New Jersey who built a wind turbine in his back yard to reduce his electricity bill. The city issued a permit to erect the tower, but now neighbors want it torn down.

“The town gave me a permit, and I built it,” he said.

“People have a right to use any resource on their property, just like oil, coal,” he added. “I don’t understand why they are against this. I really don’t.”

Maybe because, as Mr. Mercurio’s neighbors Patricia Caplicki and John Miller say in the lawsuit, in a 14-mile-per-hour wind, the three fiberglass blades produce noise greater than 50 decibels, the rough equivalent of light traffic or a noisy refrigerator.

The suit also says that the spinning blades throw “strobe-like shadows” on their property from noon to sunset.

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