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1. Rural Towns are Not Industrial Zones: * Wind farms are industrial zones that cover many square miles (according to the company, the 96 turbine wind farm contemplated for our area would cover approximately 20,000 acres, which is more than 30 square miles). Most leased land is posted "No Trespassing" and "Danger, Keep Out." (See typical "wind farm" signs below) * Without a 1.5 mile buffer, a whole town could become surrounded by an industrial wind complex, creating safety issues for the children and adults in the town (see signs above) in close proximity to their own homes. * Without this 1.5 mile protection the State of Illinois has specially given to towns, 400-500 foot tall turbines could be placed only 1320 feet from the foundation of the nearest home. In the Adams County Wind Ordinance, this "setback" distance is not measured from the city limit or property line, but from a home's foundation within the city limit. Since homes in town are often located close to one another, a single turbine placed close to one home will effect many other nearby homes just as intensely.
2. Loss of Property Value: * There are a growing number of studies that demonstrate that adding a wind farm around a home decreases the value of that home significantly, and may even make the house impossible to live in or impossible to sell. Many homes in the United States and in other countries have been abandoned, or purchased and demolished by wind companies to settle complaints and lawsuits. (See "Real Estate Values" on this website for more details.) For example, a survey in Lincoln Township, Wisconsin showed that approximately 75% of people who lived within 5 miles of that windfarm for a year or more said they would never again purchase a home, or land to build a home, near a windfarm. * All studies and surveys aside, consider this question. Would you, and most of the people you know, choose to invest your lifetime earnings in the homes pictured below if you had the chance to buy the exact same home for the same price in an area without the wind turbines present? If you really would be glad to buy these homes for what they used to be worth before the turbines were added, then that is good; there are MANY such homes for sale now. Meanwhile, most people would agree that wind turbines impact property values.
3. Loss of future development opportunities: * Most people do not choose to build homes near wind turbines, or inside the boundaries of "wind farms." The opposite is true--many people want to sell their homes and invest their money somewhere else. Windfarms do not attract people who want to build new subdivisions and start new businesses. Most people who have money to invest, if they have a choice, will choose to invest their money somewhere besides inside an industrial wind complex. How many people choose to locate near other industrial areas? * Wind farms create vast "no trespassing zones," where building a new home is not an option. A wind turbine lease establishes control for decades, not just of the small area around the wind turbines, but of an entire parcel of land, even if there are no turbines built on it. While a farmer may be allowed to continue to farm the ground, the farmer cannot even build a shed on his/her own ground without permission of the wind company during the next 40-50 years of the lease. This is because the wind company wants to control anything, from trees to buildings, that might change the flow of the wind. That means the wind company is in control of the land for decades, and has a definite slant against new homes or businesses. While this may not matter so much out in remote rural areas, it does matter near a town where the good of a whole community is related to that town's ability to grow. * Consider the new development in your town in the past 50 years. What was your town like in 1960? Even though the towns that lie in the path of this windfarm are relatively small, Golden has added new housing, a medical clinic, a new gas station; Camp Point has added an 18 hole golf course, at least 3 new subdivisions, several businesses, and two churches; Clayton has added many new homes and a new building for ABS Water. This is just a partial list. How can anyone know what lies in store in the next 50 years? * Suppose another factory like Methode wanted to locate outside of one of these towns; suppose that the number of people wanting a nice home in the country increased dramatically over the next few decades; suppose the medical clinic wanted to expand; suppose a YMCA wanted to build an indoor pool and exercise complex. Any or all of these opportunities require available land on which to build that is not tied up in a windfarm lease, and which is far enough away from wind turbines to be attractive to build. But wind farms are land-hungry; they sprawl over many square miles, creating an industrial zone in which little else is possible. If wind energy turns out to be a "flash in the pan," like giant satellite dishes, then our towns will be tied down, invested in an outdated business and likely surrounded by a forest of giant rusting turbines that nobody can afford to remove. 4. Nuisance
Effects:
* Noise is the most common complaint, world-wide, that bothers people who have experience living near wind turbines. Even though wind turbines do not usually seem loud to the ear, their noise is described by most people as highly annoying due to the unrelenting and repetitive, pervasive nature of the sound. The most disturbing part is the low-frequency sound, caused by a 7-ton blade passing a giant metal tube at 125 mph every 1.3 seconds--it is like a cross between the throbbing of the deep bass notes in a car stereo and the impact on your body when you pass a truck going the opposite direction on a highway. Some people describe a feeling of pressure or throbbing in their ears, in their throat, in their chest cavity, or in their stomach, and can only find relief by leaving the vicinity. There are many people who either rent or buy second homes or stay with family members so they can sleep at night, and some people around the world have abandoned their homes completely, unable to sell them and unable to live in them. Not everyone is affected so seriously, but a few people are; others just live with the discomfort. Most claim they do not "get used to it" like you might get used to an occasional train going by. * Shadow Flicker is caused by the sun shining through the revolving blades. It typically lasts for less than an hour per turbine; some homes receive it from two or more turbines each day. It creates a strobe-like effect inside a house and in the yard, like someone turning a light off and on every 1.3 seconds. Companies say they will "mitigate" shadow flicker by buying you shades for all the windows in your home, so you can pull all of them every day and reopen them later if you want to look outside your house again. Some companies have offered to plant trees to "mitigate" against the effects (if they grow a dense forest around your home in a few decades, it might work, at least until fall if they don't plant evergreens). Other companies just offer to pay you to put up with the effects and promise not to complain. It is safe to say that most people universally find shadow flicker irritating. To compare it to a ceiling fan is like comparing a firecracker to an atom bomb. Besides, you can turn off the ceiling fan if the shadows are bothering you. Companies should never cite a wind turbine so it casts shadow flicker on anyone's home, or they should offer to buy that home and let the people live elsewhere in peace, but not rub salt in the wound by trying to minimize or deny the effect. * Constant motion everywhere: many people are bothered by the constant rotating motion everywhere they look; they are unable to take their eyes off of a whole series of giant moving objects that tower high above the tallest trees. Some have said that it distracts them when they are driving; others say they actually feel motion sickness. Of course, others say they think the turbines look graceful and pretty; even if it is only "in the eyes of the beholder," then it is still true that if a wind farm surrounds a whole town of people, numerous people in town are going to dislike being surrounded for the rest of their lives by constant motion in the sky everywhere they look. 5. Health Effects
* The current uncertainty about health effects leads to a question; do you want your town to be part of the experiment? Unfortunately, when developers try to reassure non-participant neighbors who are worried about health effects, it is essentially saying, "We don't believe there are any health effects, and so when it comes to your home, your health, and your family, that's a chance we're willing to take." If they want to experiment and prove their theory is true, let them live next to their own turbines to prove they are safe before they force other people to do so. * For much more specific information and recent studies about health effects, see "Safety and Health Issues" on this website.
6. Concentration of homes and the stated will of the majority:
* Most wind farms in the United States are built far away from
anyone's home, let alone a whole town full of people.
* When there are competing interests between just two neighbors, such
as a hog farmer and a neighbor who doesn't like the smell of a hog
confinement, compromises seem more reasonable than when a tiny minority of
people (wind turbine leaseholders) are asking an entire town to make
sacrifices and to risk their town's future just so the minority can change
the entire landscape with wind turbines.
7. An irreversible, permanent decision with long-term, unforeseen effects:
* Leases with landowners are typically for 40-50 years, and give the
company virtually complete control of the land for that period of time.
At the end of that time, it is highly unlikely the company will remove the
turbines just because a contract ran out; it costs at least $150,000 per
turbine to remove them (about $15 million to remove just 100 turbines from
one wind farm, and that does not include fixing the road damage, removing
countless tons of concrete foundations, and so on).
8. Impact on View:
* Some people say this issue is "subjective," as though it does not
matter. And yes, it is true that a few people like the way turbines
look
* View is more than subjective; it also has monetary value--if you don't believe that, compare the price of a house with a beautiful view to the price of a house that looks at a junk yard (or wind farm). Homes with a "good view" sell for more than homes with a "bad view." It's just a fact. There is a monetary value associated with view, and to take that away from a whole town full of people is not right--it is not merely an issue that can be dismissed with the words, "well, that's your opinion (and therefore, since it is only a matter of opinion, it doesn't count)."
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