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| Landowners should remain wary of long-term, wind-energy leases |
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Dear Farm World,
My husband and I farm in East Central Illinois, and we enjoy reading Farm World. Like many country folks, we love our home and our farm and are proud of our roots. We were particularly interested to read the recent article written by John Schwarz titled, What would Forrest Gump say about wind energy agreements?
Thank you for printing an article that explains some of the realities of wind development. We appreciated its candor, and hope to see more articles of this nature in the future.
We are landowners with wind development close by. We’ve heard the sales pitches but after doing some research, we won’t be signing up. There are already landowners locked into long-term leases they now regret but can’t talk about openly because their leases forbid them to.
As the article by Mr. Schwarz indicated, one concern is that wind leases tie up farms for decades. We’ve just recently realized that they can also tie up rural communities, decreasing their options for the future.
Look across the landscape where clusters of wind turbines stand. When big, global corporations like these control the land, even planting trees can be restricted. What are the chances that something like a new school, factory, grain elevator, highway, rail system or small airport will ever be built there in the future?
There are additional potential liabilities that most of us had not considered such as declining property values in the area; as well as turbines affecting Doppler radar, GPS, civil defense, aerial application, rescue helicopters and the health of nearby residents. These are serious issues with long-term implications that need to be thoroughly investigated and thoughtfully considered for the good of our communities and future generations.
The fact that many energy experts now believe that industrial wind energy is not feasible because it is not sustainable, and that it is not really ‘green’ because it can create more ‘dirty energy’ to manufacture and install than the ‘clean’ energy it will ever be able to produce is disturbing.
It appears that trusting landowners and community leaders in rural areas are being taken advantage of by financially motivated corporations hungry for subsidy money. The more I learn, the more I am astounded by the politics involved.
Wind farms are changing rural America quickly, and we desperately need adequate and honest coverage of this complex issue. Without good independent information (that hasn’t been financed by those who stand to profit from it), I fear that those of us who live in and love rural communities will reap a much different harvest from these ‘farms’ than we had expected.
Our leaders need to be encouraged to look carefully before leaping, and to remember that they are representing the citizens, not lobbyists or others whose motives are financial gain.
As a teacher I believe education is important, and with that in mind I am passing on websites that contain valuable information. Again, thank you so much for helping to inform us regarding issues such as these. Please keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Mary L. Langellier
Milford, Ill.
http://www.calt.iastate.edu (Iowa State University Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation - article titled Wind Energy Production: Legal Issues and Related Liability Concerns)
www.masterresource.org (category – wind power: history and issues)
www.flaginc.org/topics/pubs/wind.php (nonprofit law center supporting farmers)
http://lifewithdekalbturbines.blogspot.com (real experiences from a young family in Illinois)
www.windpowerfacts.info
http://windenergyleases.blogspot.com |
| 7/15/2010 |
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