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[ Impact on Landscape ] Wind energy in West Texas

Two different, but very similar news reports (CBS News: Winds of change blow in Texas and NPR: Winds of change blow into Roscoe, Texas) were published in the last two weeks. Each highlighted the economic opportunities resulting from wind energy development in West Texas and the revitalization of otherwise land-rich, resource-poor communities of the State. CBS termed it a "wind energy gold rush".

These stories stand in stark contrast to the message offered in this short video from the same area. Further, not all landowners who lease land for wind development continue to support their decision after the turbines are operational. This paid ad, which appeared in a Wisconsin paper in October 2007, tells a disheartening story of a landowner who recognized the fallout of his decision after the damage was done.

Promises of jobs

The wind industry has incented rural communities to host wind energy installations with promises of jobs for local workers, the bulk of which are short-term, construction-related positions. After the facility is operational, only 1-2 people are employed full-time near the site per 50 megawatts of installed capacity. The facility largely runs unattended and is monitored remotely from locations in Europe and elsewhere.

Contrast this with a typical biomass facility that provides 20 full-time positions at the operating plant and another 2 positions per megawatt capacity (40+ people) in the woods conducting fuel procurement (ref. Ridgewood Renewable Power of New Jersey). But even temporary local construction jobs for wind plants may be proving elusive, as this letter from the Ironworkers Local 33 in New York demonstrates. See: http://www.windaction.org/documents/11901.

Renewables set to push up utility bills http://www.windaction.org/articles/19993 Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:09:33 GMT Firms and households are facing significantly higher electricity bills over the next five to 10 years as consumers shoulder the cost of renewable energy targets. Analysts estimate that households are already paying up to £10 extra a year through their utility bills to subsidise alternative forms of energy. At an energy conference in Edinburgh last week policymakers admitted that the financial burden on households and businesses will only increase as governments push to achieve ambitious renewables targets. http://www.windaction.org/articles/19993 The quest for answers - and compensation - for electrical pollution on the farm http://www.windaction.org/articles/19082 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT Both animal and human health is suffering from stray voltage that can cause catastrophic problems in the barn. But nailing down the precise causes and where the responsibility lies has proved a long and difficult struggle Driven out of business as a result of a raft of health and behaviour problems suffered by their herd, beef producers Ross and Darlene Brindley are suing Hydro One Networks Inc. and Edmonton Power Corporation (EPCOR) for a hefty $5 million. They claim that stray voltage from EPCOR's wind turbines not only destroyed their herd, but has also had a severe impact on their own health as well. And they are not alone. http://www.windaction.org/articles/19082 Jobs blow revealed in wind energy report http://www.windaction.org/articles/18451 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:08:46 GMT The massive planned expansion of renewable energy may produce far fewer jobs than the government has claimed, a study has found. Producing enough renewable energy to meet government targets would create about 36,000 jobs in the wind energy sector by 2020, according to a study by Bain & Company for the British Wind Energy Association, to be published today. ...In its renewable energy strategy, published over the summer, the government claimed it would create 160,000 new jobs by 2020. http://www.windaction.org/articles/18451 Green energy plan 'will force more families into fuel poverty' http://www.windaction.org/articles/16579 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:27:34 GMT More families will be driven into fuel poverty as a push to generate more electricity from "green" sources like wind, wave and solar power sharply increases household fuel bills, the Government has said. Electricity bills could rise by 13 per cent and gas prices could go up by as much as 37 per cent as consumers are made to pay more to subsidise green energy production, ministers said in a new Renewable Energy Strategy. ...The Renewable Energy Strategy says: "It is likely that the measures we need to use to increase renewable energy will add to the challenges we face in combating fuel poverty." http://www.windaction.org/articles/16579 Millwrights picket wind turbines in Port Alma http://www.windaction.org/articles/16228 Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:34:23 GMT About two-dozen unemployed millwrights set up a picket line Thursday to slow trucks delivering massive wind turbine parts from Windsor to the $200-million Kruger Energy project. Rick Anderson of Millwright Local 1244 said the erection of the 80-metre-high steel towers and 45-metre-long blades should be done by his union's skilled trades workers. He warned that if bolts loosen because of improper tightening techniques the towers could topple. ...About seven truckloads of turbine parts are sent daily from Morterm Windsor docks. Ships from Denmark and China bring in the turbine sections. http://www.windaction.org/articles/16228 In Cape Wind storm of letters, two raise eyebrows http://www.windaction.org/articles/15527 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:34:28 GMT By the time federal regulators stopped accepting public comments about the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm on Monday, two of the letters had already raised some eyebrows among the project's critics. That's because the two letters were signed by the same person, state Division of Marine Fisheries director Paul Diodati, but they struck noticeably different tones. ...Diodati's first letter [dated Feb. 20] spells out the loss of access that fishermen could face as well as concerns about rescue crews reaching a troubled boat in the area. But the second letter, dated March 7, tones down the rhetoric considerably, reducing the section that lists the potential impacts to fisheries to just a few sentences. The section also mentions a couple of possible benefits, such as certain species becoming attracted to the newly built tower foundations. http://www.windaction.org/articles/15527 Wind farmer looking to harvest a windfall http://www.windaction.org/articles/13109 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:17:30 GMT Michigan’s first commercial wind farm –a collection of 32 towering turbines that conjure visions of H. G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds”—is scheduled to begin operating in a few weeks, spurring for some a near-gold rush mentality in this sparsely populated area. Thousands of dollars in a guaranteed annual harvest comes with each windmill placed on a farmer’s land, and that lure has gone a long way toward interrupting the horizontal sameness of vast corn and bean fields. “I can’t wait ‘til they get going,” said Bob Webber, who turned over easement rights to a portion of his property in Huron County for a proposed second wind farm, with 42 turbines. ...The support, however, is not unanimous. In the northernmost part of the county, along the shoreline of Lake Huron, critics have raised objections about the windmill’s potential impact on birds and property values. This is a lake resort area, popular in the summertime. It’s an eagle nesting site and part of the migratory path of thousands of tundra swans. “Our township is unique because it is resort and agricultural,” said Louis Colletta, the planning commission chairman for Lake Township. The township last month rejected DTE’s request to set up testing towers to measure the speed and consistency of the wind. http://www.windaction.org/articles/13109 Wind farm inquiry - Northumberland http://www.windaction.org/articles/12859 Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:44:27 GMT One of Northumberland's longest-serving councillors has given his evidence to the Middlemoor inquiry, after years of being 'gagged' by local government rules. Political heavyweight John Taylor, who is county member for Longhoughton division and district representative for Hedgeley Ward of Alnwick District Council, was finally able to break his silence on Friday afternoon on the plans for 18 turbines near South Charlton. He said: ..."This is the first time that I have been able to comment from a personal point of view on the matter. "As I have said previously, I have lived and worked in Northumberland for most of my life and I feel very strongly that these proposals will have the most detrimental effect on the landscape. http://www.windaction.org/articles/12859 UPC Wind reneges on local jobs http://www.windaction.org/articles/11830 Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:04:12 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/11830 Wind-farm foes speak out at hearing http://www.windaction.org/articles/11573 Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:56:33 GMT State officials got an earful and more on opposition to Gamesa Energy USA's proposal to site 30 turbines on Somerset County's Shaffer Mountain at a public hearing Tuesday night. A crowd of more than 450 heckled, cheered and jeered as speakers took the stand at a packed Shade High School gymnasium....A busload of about 40 employees from Gamesa's Ebensburg plant arrived in Gamesa ballcaps to sit together and provide most of the company's backing in the tough crowd. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11573 Turbines have 'horrific impact' on village life http://www.windaction.org/articles/11129 Fri, 03 Aug 2007 10:57:17 GMT CAMPAIGNERS against plans for a new wind farm between Bagthorpe, Barmer and Syderstone have been told of the horrific impact turbines can have on village life. A packed public meeting in Bircham Newton heard from a number of guest speakers who gave grave warnings about the health impact, noise disturbances and threat to wildlife which could stem from the five turbines earmarked for the villages. Included among the speakers was Jane Davis, of Deeping St Nicholas, Lincolnshire, who described the persistent noise problems she has faced from a wind farm near her home. She also spoke of how the value of her property has plummeted since the development was completed. Syderstone resident Reg Thompson, a member of the action group formed to oppose the plans, said: "People are very concerned about this. "There are moves being made in Europe to ban wind farms that are within two kilometres of housing and we hope that becomes legislation because every house in Syderstone falls within that radius. "People are very upset. We have seen housing deals fall through as people no longer want to move here. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11129 Wind power ardour cools http://www.windaction.org/articles/11052 Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:15:46 GMT Projects are picking up the most speed in Ontario, where the provincial government has embraced wind energy as a symbol of its green friendliness, and municipalities are signing on with a fervour because the province's above-market prices mean they can reap cash in land sales and tax revenues. But as Canada experiences a rapid rise in these developments, there is a growing opposition to wind power as a clean energy alternative, with complaints that it is high-cost, energy-inefficient, causes noise pollution and even wreaks havoc on birds' migratory patterns. After raising many of these concerns with the Ontario Municipal Board, residents of Wolfe Island, Ont., celebrated a victory this week when plans for an 86-turbine megaproject by Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. was modified to place the turbines farther away from residential areas and wetlands. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11052 Meeting focuses on battling ‘wind farms' http://www.windaction.org/articles/9884 Thu, 31 May 2007 02:28:53 GMT Ladd said the purpose of tonight's meeting is to get concerned taxpayers who don't like the idea of "wasting our tax dollars, increasing our electric bills and diminishing our property values 30 to 40 percent" involved. "If it were not for the tax credits involved, we would not have wind turbines being constructed in the state of Texas," Ladd said. "... It's the biggest waste of tax dollars I have ever seen." http://www.windaction.org/articles/9884 Wind farm furore http://www.windaction.org/articles/9270 Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:01:15 GMT Wind power companies offering farmers lucrative contracts for turbine sites are driving a wedge between some country communities as neighbours are forced to "pay up or put up" with noise disruption and possible health problems. Three farmers involved with new wind farms told Rural News that power company negotiators tell farmers there will be no potential noise or health problems from turbines, in spite of contrary evidence from international researchers. One farmer says he signed up for 14 turbines, to earn $140,000 per year for 40 years, after being told by the power company that the turbines would be "ecofriendly". Now he thinks he should have done more research. http://www.windaction.org/articles/9270 The Davis’s story http://www.windaction.org/articles/8980 Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:54:45 GMT A family who live in the shadow of a wind farm in Lincolnshire say they have "lost everything" just because of the noise it makes. Farmer Julian Davis, his wife Jane and their teenage daughter have already had to rent a separate house to sleep in because they are kept awake by the sound of the eight turbines. They claim their home, formerly worth £170,000, cannot be sold because it is so blighted by noise pollution but they may abandon it anyway. http://www.windaction.org/documents/7337 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8980 Wind turbines ‘are ruining our quality of life’ http://www.windaction.org/articles/8979 Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:48:52 GMT The majority of people living near wind turbines believe that the noise they make is ruining their health and quality of life, a report has revealed. Neighbours also claim that the constant hum and the loud "whooshing" sound made by the blades in high winds is destroying the value of their homes. A survey of people whose homes are situated within 1.2 miles of turbines has shown that three-quarters of them feel that the noise has damaged their quality of life while four out of five say it has affected their health. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8979 Wind farm plan set for election issue http://www.windaction.org/articles/8878 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:18:36 GMT Candidates lining up for a crack at the Clwyd West Assembly seat are being urged to blow political hot air in the direction of a controversial renewable energy issue. Llanrhaeadr yng Nghinmeirch county councillor Paul Marfleet is urging current Clwyd West AM Alun Pugh and prospective candidates to consider the concerns of Nantglyn residents over proposals for more wind turbines to be situated near the village. Residents are concerned over plans for 29 new wind turbines around the village by two companies, Windpower Wales and Tegni Cymru Cyf. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8878 New England’s largest wind farm is whipping up dissent http://www.windaction.org/articles/8258 Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:34:57 GMT MARS HILL, Maine — Something has turned terribly sour for about 18 homeowners who live along the mountain roads where the state’s first and only wind farm has recently gone on line. To a man and to a woman, they feel betrayed, cheated, used, ignored, and dismissed. Put them in a room and they are spitting mad. Collectively, as they gather on a Saturday morning inside a home that sits in the shadow of the turbines, their anger is barely palatable. Since the turbines started up, they say, silence has become a luxury. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8258