Kenyon Wind – Price of Wind
May 1st, 2007
In today’s STrib, a letter from my clients, neighbors to the proposed Kenyon Wind project:
Price of wind energy
Legislation to develop renewable energy needs introspection. History shows when there’s a rush to implement new policy, unintended consequences prevail.
Such is the case with wind energy. People assume wind energy is “free” — no pollution, no greenhouse gases, no downside — but there’s more to consider.
Wind turbines have typically been installed in remote areas with sparse population. The legislative mandate has developers feeling they’ve been given “carte blanche,” but wind generators must be sited responsibly.
Utility-grade wind turbines are taller than the Foshay Tower, more than 400 feet to blade peak, with spinning rotors weighing 30 tons. Kenyon Wind proposes to site turbines within just 800 feet of residences of people not invested in the project, which is too close given safety and noise concerns. Turbines are annoying, noisy neighbors, and they generate not just electricity but “flicker” by casting shadows during daylight hours.
Like any “good” idea, there are consequences. Wind turbines on sparsely populated southwest Minnesota prairie are one thing — siting them among close residences here in southeast Minnesota is another.
MIKE CHASE, KENYON, MINN.
PRESIDENT, CITIZENS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS AND SAFETY
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