The new windmill on the Hugh R. Sharp campus of the University of Delaware in Lewes is almost ready to go. It is not quite yet operational but the blades were added over the past two days.
An impressive sight (the windmill tower stands 256 Feet High and the blades are each 144 feet long), our new windmill has already drawn lots of attention – most of it good. Cars were streaming down Pilottown Road just to see the tower Saturday morning after being alerted to its existence by an article in the local paper. .. and word did not take long to spread that the blades were up by this morning.
One of the most important questions to local Lewes residents, and one which has not yet been answered by the Cape Gazette (where we get all our news!) – is “how loud is it going to be?” And “what about the migrating geese – have they been warned?” Okay, that’s two questions, but I digress.
The Gazette wrote an excellent piece (which unfortunately I can not find online or I would link to it here) on the windmill explaining in detail how it would operate and its potential for generating electricity, etc etc. But they neglected to address the noise issue. So perhaps it’s not an issue? Or maybe it was addressed earlier and I missed that article.
How do I know these are major concerns? Because everyone who is planning to buy or has already bought property in the Pilottown Road area of downtown Lewes has been calling or dropping by my office to find out what we know pretty regularly since this weekend.
…and the answer is that we know as much as you do, folks, but I promise to let you know as soon as I hear anything “official”.
I will add that someone else in my office was told (by a highly unofficial source!) that it will not violate any residential noise regulations, and that at most you may hear a swooshing sound if you’re standing right under it.
Since it is pretty far from any houses, it seems unlikely to be an issue….but I will ask around for an official response. Stay tuned for that, and in the meantime, enjoy the view. You can click on the photo to see an enlarged version.
- Thar She Blows!
Posted by Lee Ann Wilkinson 
