Evergreen Solar Plant Threatened By Complaints

(MoneyWatch)  Noise complaints about wind farms are becoming an everyday occurrence, but solar power? The Boston Herald is reporting that neighbors of the new Evergreen Solar manufacturing plant in Devens, Mass. are complaining about noise levels high enough to sicken animals:

[It's] so noisy the horses have ulcers, the ducks have disappeared and a dog has started gnawing off doorknobs, angry neighbors say ... "To work in my garden, I have to wear headphones," said Janice Perry, an acupuncturist whose Harvard farm abuts Evergreen's new 450,000-square-foot manufacturing plant ...

Since the neighbors complained, the company has installed sound-dampening devices, replaced defective blower units, and changed its gas delivery schedules, Lawson said. The company has also hired a noise consultant. But neighbors say the noise problem hasn't gotten any better and that could mean trouble for Evergreen.

Most manufacturing processes are pretty noisy, but it may be that Evergreen has some special circumstances -- considering that the residents once abided having a military base next door, their complaints are probably more than idle NIMBYism. And if it's noisy now, the problem could get worse later; the company hasn't even reached its full 40MW manufacturing capacity at the plant yet.

The "trouble" for Evergreen could also be more than just the regular fines that the company has started to attract for the noise. If they don't find a way to correct the problem, the plant could have its permanent occupancy permit withheld, which would threaten its viability in the area. With Evergreen already loaded with debt and vulnerable from the recession, unhappy neighbors could be a serious threat.