A Devens solar panel plant near several Harvard farms is so noisy the horses have ulcers, the ducks have disappeared and a dog has started gnawing off doorknobs, angry neighbors say.

The nonstop noise from Evergreen Solar Inc.'s highly touted plant, which Gov. Deval Patrick has praised as "the leading edge of our clean energy economy," is driving neighbors crazy and making their animals sick.

"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 January, she and her neighbors have complained about noise coming from the plant, which the Marlboro-based company has said will one day employ 700 people and make 780,000 solar panels a year. The factory stretches the length of three football fields.

The Devens Enterprise Commission, which regulates the plant and other businesses on what used to be Fort Devens, has already slapped the company with two noise ordinance violations.

"This green-energy company has polluted the neighborhood with noise, and it seems not to be working very hard to correct this," Perry said.

Evergreen spokesman Chris Lawson disagreed and, after downplaying the noise problem, said the company is "really fully committed to working with the community."

But that's not enough for neighbors, who initially thought the noise was related to the massive plant's construction, which began last July. By January, however, nearby residents realized the noise stemmed from the manufacturing process and began complaining.

"Imagine tuning your radio to a station that gets only static," said Jay Wallace, co-owner of Dunroven Farm. "Then imagine having to listen to that 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That's what we are living with."

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.

The plant's temporary occupancy permit expires this month, and the enterprise commission has told neighbors the plant won't get a permanent occupancy permit until the noise levels drop, Wallace said. The company also faces possible daily fines for noise violations.

Lawson vowed Evergreen will fix the problem "so we can move on and do what we do best, which is making solar panels."

Originally published by By CHRISTINE McCONVILLE.

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