What do wind developers see when they look at communities like ours? It's green, but it has nothing to do with the environment.
Here are some excerpts from one of the best pieces of writing about the wind industry we've read. It comes to us from Magaret Collins.(CLICK HERE TO READ IT AT THE SOURCE)
When wind developers target a community they typically employ three very effective strategies.
First, they cleverly use their “green” facade to gain acceptance by local politicians, environmentalists and an uninformed public.
Second, knowing that few people understand the complexity of wind power issues, they make unsupportable claims.
Finally, if the first two don’t work, they garner support from locals by essentially buying them off – with taxpayers’ money!
Other than a handful of property owners who will make a few thousand dollars a year leasing their land for wind turbines, the only people who will benefit are the out-of- state wind developers and their wealthy investors who are hoping we are too foolish to realize that we are once again about to be exploited.
....As you no doubt have guessed by now, it’s all about the money.
The only reason wind turbines are built is because they are fantastic tax shelters for wealthy investors.
Federal tax subsidies for wind now exceed $7 billion, and at over $23.00 per megawatt hour, far exceed those for any other type of generation facilities.
These billions are shrewdly applied by the wind industry to hire lobbyists and make political donations, thus keeping the subsidies flowing. Taking advantage of the fear of global warming, the industry has very skillfully lobbied and placed promoters in government positions so as to influence Congress, governors and legislators to enact “renewable energy mandates” and provide ever-increasing tax breaks favorable to wind development. Crafty entrepreneurs like T. Boone Pickens create $50 million saturation ad campaigns to curry public support for continuation of these massive taxpayer subsidies. He does not plan to lose money.
Gullible local officials are easily swayed by the promise of huge tax revenues that rarely materialize. Unions and workers support these projects, hoping to get a piece of the action, only to find out later that most construction work is performed by out-of-state workers, and permanent jobs relegated to one or two low-paying maintenance positions. Sadly, the vast majority of people have successfully been brainwashed and are clueless as to the folly of wind turbines and the damage they will cause. Support for wind energy is based solely on politics, ignorance and smart lobbying, not on science.
At some point it will become apparent that wind simply does not and cannot be made to work, just as it is now becoming obvious that corn-based ethanol does more harm than good.
Eventually, governmental and public support will wane and the increasingly expensive tax credits will be eliminated as we turn to clean energy sources that actually work, such as geothermal and nuclear energy. But before that occurs, many more billions will have been wasted and much damage will be done, irrevocably.
Wind developers hope to get as many turbines up as quickly as possible before the subsidy spigot is turned off. When that happens, there will be wide-scale abandonment of existing wind turbines. Since removal costs will be prohibitive, they will become rotting hulks, littering hundreds of miles of ridgetops, a sad legacy to inflict upon our children.
SECOND FEATURE: How close should your house be to a turbine on fire? The state of Wisconsin says 1000 feet. That's 350 steps. Unless your township adopts an ordinance with a better setback, 350 steps from your door is what it will be.
Bloomfield Wind Tower Fire
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Bloomfield had an unexpected fire call today at Tower 23, a 262 foot wind tower northwest of town, burst into flames. Officials say three men were injured in the fire. One was sent by Life Flight to Sioux City with extensive burns.
One man, who was atop a tower when a turbine exploded, received first- and second-degree burns in the fire Tuesday morning. Two others, who were nearby, were treated for smoke inhalation and released.
The fire occurred just after 11:00 AM in Bloomfield and the Bloomfield Fire and Ambulance arrived shortly after.
Edison Mission Group Inc., a subsidiary of Edison International, is building the 80-megawatt Elkhorn Ridge wind farm north of Bloomfield.
Edison spokeswoman Susan Olavarria says the worker who suffered serious burns was taken to a hospital, but she didn’t know his current condition.
Olavarria says all the injured employees worked for subcontractor Vestas Wind Energy. Vestas officials said they don’t yet know what happened. Olavarria said the site has been closed down for public safety, and an investigation into the cause of the fire is under way by her company. She did not have a damage estimate.
The men were troubleshooting the tower during routine commissioning in order to bring the tower online.
Wausa News Staff
