Meeting airs concerns about wind turbine development
Along with speakers and handouts, informational boards were prominently displayed in the gym at the St. Mary’s School in Bloomington. The information gave detailed information on the companies looking to lease land from property owners in Grant County.
A meeting held at St. Mary’s School in Bloomington highlighted public concerns about wind farm developments in the area, including a proposed series of turbines near Patch Grove in Grant County. Pete Moris, a farm owner in Grant County, moderated the presentation, which included five speakers. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
By Steve Van Kooten
A public information meeting held at St. Mary’s School in Bloomington on October 23 painted a grim picture of the relationship between wind farm developers and land owners in Grant County.
Pete Moris, who owns a farm in Grant County, claimed that developers “don’t give a crap about anyone in our county; they care about making money.”
Moris moderated the presentation, which included five speakers: Rob Danielson, secretary and treasurer of Save Our Unique Lands of Wisconsin (SOUL); Chris Klopp, a SOUL board member; and three Wisconsin farm owners, Richard Jinkins, Roberta Barham and Lisa Braley.
Moris said the most prominent renewable energy developers submitting projects in southern Wisconsin are corporations taking advantage of a “rigged system” that favors their interests over the residents and landowners of Wisconsin, calling them profiteers.
“The energy companies make money when they put more steel in the ground… that’s how they make money,” he said.
These companies, including Invenergy, Pattern Energy and EDP Renewables, have spent millions of dollars on wind turbine projects throughout the Midwest. Representatives claim that these renewable energy projects will add money to the local communities, provide cheaper energy and allow land to recover from the rigors of farm use.
Danielson said interest in the area increased after the installation of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line and the upgrade to the line between Genoa and Cassville.
“When high-voltage transmission lines show up in your neighborhood, utility-scale wind and solar plants are not far behind,” Klopp added.
Policy and loosened regulations have also made Wisconsin land prime cuts for companies looking to develop what they call “wholesale merchant plants.”
“What is the main reason that international merchant utilities have hired experienced land contract salesmen to pressure landowners all over Southwest Wisconsin?” Danielson asked. “The under-known reason is, prior to 2010, Wisconsin lawmakers from both political parties passed laws making it far easier for merchant power plant developers to obtain landowner signatures and propose and build power plants in Wisconsin compared to all other Midwest states.”
Merchant plants are not subject to the same standards of public interest as a public utilities project. A public plant would have to prove that it fulfilled a need and that there was not a better alternative, according to Klopp.
Another incentive is federal investment tax credits for renewable energy projects.
Danielson and Moris alleged that developers hire salesmen to pressure landowners into signing lease agreements, which are favorable to the developers and can last for decades with very few rights given to the landowners.
Danielson said residents can take a few simple measures to protect themselves when a developer asks for their signature on a lease agreement: they can ask questions, refuse to sign contracts and ask for claims in writing.
“They’re asking you to sign a 61-page document. Don’t you think you should get those claims in writing?” Danielson asked.
Municipalities and town boards do not have many options left to regulate wind turbines or any kind of energy plant construction.
Mount Ida Township Chairman Jamie Horsfall told the audience that his board passed an ordinance that sets some restrictions targeting wind energy.
“We passed a licensing ordinance within our township… Within that licensing ordinance — it’s a 28-30 page document — one of the key things are health and safety requirements, and I know one of them is a distance in feet it has to be away from schools,” he said.
Currently, local governments still have the ability to establish setbacks for energy projects, which can restrict them from building within a certain distance of homes, schools or even streams.
“Yes, they have lease agreements, but they would have to meet the requirements set forth by the local governing body,” Moris said. “Again, that is a roadblock; it makes it tougher for them to come in and do what they do. That’s really the only local option we have right now.”
Horsfall added that residents have to work together and municipal governments have to act against developers. “You can do something about it. You can protect your communities.”
Environment
Despite the favorable political landscape in Wisconsin, the environment is not ideal for wind energy.
According to Danielson, at 30 feet above the ground, the average wind speed in Southwest Wisconsin is approximately four meters per second, which is below average compared to the rest of the country. At 100 feet above the ground, that number nearly doubles to seven meters per second, a far more desirable speed for wind turbines.
So, what does a developer do? Build bigger turbines.
650 feet big, to be exact. One of these five megawatt, 77-ton turbines requires an 80-foot base, 900 yards of concrete and significant trenching for connection lines.
Klopp said turbines today are almost 50 percent taller and three times as powerful as the ones proposed in 2014, when the Wind Siting Council made their initial health and policy report.
Braley claimed the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ guidance for minimizing impacts to natural resources is “way outdated” and based on 400-foot turbines, more than 200 feet smaller than the some of the turbines proposed in the Grant County projects.
Some studies claim there is not enough data showing that animals have been harmed by turbine blades, but Braley claimed they can affect wildlife, such as bats, in other ways.
“The other scary way is they don’t have to be impacted by the blade,” she said. “The air pressures fill their lungs with fluid, and they instantly fall to their deaths below the turbines.”
“The purpose of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is to protect and enhance our resources. Our air, land and water; our wildlife, fish and forests; and the ecosystems that sustain all of our lives. They are failing at their job,” she said.
If turbines affect bats and other animals that way, what is it doing to people?
Jinkins alleged that adverse health effects from wind turbines, including tinnitus, headaches, nausea and vertigo, among many other disturbances, come from air pulses emitted by turbines at a frequency below human hearing.
“These air-pressure pulses go in your ear; they rattle your inner-ear drums and balance system. They affect your upper ear like you’re out on the water,” he said.
The severity of health risks caused by wind turbines is a “highly debated” topic, according to a study on the relationship between wind turbines and human health published by the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine.
Barham raised questions about the turbines’ effect on groundwater, specifically in Southwest Wisconsin, where a significant portion of the land has karst topography. Much of it is limestone, which is porous and creates a natural filtration system for clean water. She said excavation and trenching activities can cause impacts to sub-surface water systems.
“Surface disturbances can severely affect groundwater quality in karst areas and thus the drinking water of many U.S. citizens,” Barham said.
