Entries in wind farm wisconsin (76)
6/21/10 Why did the Brown County Board of Health say no to Invenergy's wind project proposal?
The BPRC Research Nerd
in Brown County, Invenergy, Ledge Wind, Wind farm health effects, wind farm contract, wind farm noise, wind farm propery values, wind farm shadow flicker, wind farm wild life, wind farm wisconsin
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6/20/10 What are they saying about the wind project proposed for Brown County? AND Wind Siting Council Meeting tomorrow at 1:30
Wind turbine issue sparks resident debate |
Green Bay Press-Gazette, www.greenbaypressgazette.com June 20 2010
Wind farm development has been a hotly debated issue in Northeastern Wisconsin, and the Green Bay Press-Gazette has received numerous letters to the editor, for and against.
Drawing the most response from readers has been a proposal by Invenergy LLC, a Chicago-based company, to build wind turbines in the Brown County towns of Morrison, Wrightstown, Glenmore and Holland. The 100-turbine wind farm would be the first major commercial operation of its kind in Brown County and the largest in the state. It has signed contracts for about $8,000 a year with numerous property owners permitting 400-foot turbines on their properties.
Many property owners and residents in the southern Brown County communities have spoken out against the project, citing negative health effects and the potential loss in property values.
Just last week, the Brown County Board of Health recommended that no wind turbines be built in the area of the proposed wind farm in southern Brown County, citing a potential threat to the groundwater. The area has a history of well contamination because of the porous bedrock peculiar to that region.
Invenergy is awaiting siting rules from the Public Service Commission, which is taking public comments on the wind turbine issue until July 6.
Uncomfortable with proposed turbines
DENMARK — In the Press-Gazette article, "Wind company tries to woo Brown County" (May 11), Kevin Parzyck, the project manager for the proposed 100-turbine Ledge Wind project in Brown County, is quoted as saying "(T)here is a high level of comfort … it's a benefit to the community." This is a misleading statement.
Get facts straight
The BCCRWE is funded by donations of individual members only. BCCRWE is not connected statewide and does not have external funding sources. BCCRWE is for renewable energy that is sustainable and cost-effective. The Ledge Wind Project is neither. It is heavily subsidized by our tax dollars and higher utility rates.
What else is being said that is less than credible? It certainly makes a person wonder.
Turbines in southern Brown County a 'social injustice'
The area has fractured bedrock that can allow contaminants to leak into ground water. Building this wind farm may result in more fractures and poorer well water quality.
A frustrating aspect for the people of southern Brown County is lack of local control. By law, wind turbines are considered "farming" and go on agricultural land, even though they are no more agricultural than a hydroelectric dam or a nuclear power plant.
The decision to put one up is made solely between the developer and the farmer, who both profit, while the surrounding community suffers negative effects, loss of health and wealth (due to declining property values). To me, this is an incredible social injustice.
WIND SITING COUNCIL MEETING NOTICE
Monday, June 21, 2010, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Docket 1-AC-231
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Flambeau River Conference Room (3rd Floor)
Public Service Commission Building
610 North Whitney Way, Madison, WisconsinAudio or video of the meeting will be broadcast from the PSC Website beginning at 1:30.
CLICK HERE to visit the PSC website, click on the button on the left that says "Live Broadcast". Sometimes the meetings don't begin right on time. The broadcasts begin when the meetings do so keep checking back if you don't hear anything at the appointed start time.
Agenda
1) Welcome/Review of today’s agenda
2) Review and adoption of meeting minutes of June 15, 2010
3) Background information on questions raised by Council regarding the draft rules
a. Statutory interpretation
b. Enforcement
c. Commission rulemaking authority
d. Notice requirements
e. Emergency services
f. Vestas manual reference
g. Decommissioning
h. Stray voltage
i. Complaint resolution
j. Commission noise measurement protocol
4) Discuss proposed amendments to straw proposal for Council’s recommendations to
Commission regarding draft rules
5) Next steps/Discussion of next meeting’s time, place and agenda
6) Adjourn
This meeting is open to the public.
If you have any questions or need special accommodations, please contact Deborah
Erwin at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin by telephone at (608) 266-3905 or
via e-mail at deborah.erwin@wisconsin.gov.
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in Wind farm health effects, wind farm complaint, wind farm contract, wind farm easement, wind farm lawsuit, wind farm noise, wind farm setback, wind farm shadow flicker, wind farm wildlife, wind farm wisconsin, wind siting council PSC
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6/11/2010 Do wind turbines affect property values? Home in Invenergy wind project finally sells after 740 days on the market and a 45% price cut AND Should wind developers be licensed before they get you to sign contracts that will tie up your land for the next 40 years?
In March of 2008 the 86 turbine Invenergy Forward Energy wind project went on line in Dodge and Fond du Lac Counties, Wisconsin. The setback from non-participating homes is 1000 feet.
Two months later this home in the project goes up for sale.
LISTED MAY 29, 2008: For Sale: Country home on five wooded acres. 1900 square feet, four bedrooms, 3.5 baths, central air, new roof, sky lights in kitchen, deck, family room with wood burning fireplace, vaulted ceilings, first floor laundry, excercise room, whirlpool tub in master bath, 3.5 car garage, your own nature trail through black walnut woods behind the house
MAY 29, 2008: Asking $219,000 No buyers.
WINTER of 2009: Asking Price: $179,900. No buyers.
SPRING of 2010: Asking Price: $158,900. No buyers.
JUNE 4, 2010: After 740 days on the market, SOLD for $129,000
Second Feature
Though the wind industry claims the proximity of wind turbines to a home has no effect on property values, real estate broker and Wind Siting Council member Tom Meyer disagrees. He believes the presence of wind turbines does have a negative impact on property values.
He also believes that wind developers should be licensed before they get you to sign a contract that will tie up your land for the next 40 years.
Here's why:
[The following document can be found on the Wind Siting Council Docket, # 1-AC-231]
Prepared by Tom Meyer For Wind Siting Council Meeting June 9, 2010
Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 452 Real Estate Practice
The State of WI has a history of protecting the consumer of real estate services and holding real estate brokers accountable.
The ability to provide a limited practice of law is afforded to brokers by a 4-3 vote of the 1960 WI Supreme Court (The Dinger Case). This right is closely regulated and serves the public well for 60 years.
The legislature and the real estate industry in WI has worked cooperatively to modify Wisconsin’s agency law over those years to enhance the business models available to the WI consumer and raise the level of service and skill provided to the consumer by the licensee.
The activities of persons employed by, or acting on behalf of Turbine Developers, are substantially real estate brokerage services. The services are provided to the Lessor (the landowner) on behalf of the Lessee, (the wind energy developer).
Sign them up
A term commonly used in describing the door to door approach to obtaining leases where land owners “host” a turbine(s) is “Sign them up”.
While sign them up is not a legally defined term, what is being signed is a legally binding contract: a lease. What happens prior to the land owner signing the lease is “negotiation”, another legally defined term. See subsection 452.01
Atypical Lessee – Lessor Relationship
The lease instrument in Wind Energy Development is drafted by the LESSEE—the developer, not the landowner.
The more familiar practice in everyday real estate experience where a landowner leases property to another party is the reverse of what happens in wind energy development.
In siting wind turbines, the developer goes to the landowner.
The developer comes to the property with a vast amount of knowledge and preparation.
There is virtually no advanced notice and no opportunity to brainstorm with other landowners.(In fact we are told by Wind Siting Council members with wind energy interests that it is not favorable to their profit margins to have owners come together to discuss terms prior to signing contracts.)
The developer arrives with a contract and a sales presentation. The wind energy persons have stated that it is common for a family owned farm operation to be struggling financially in Wisconsin, and the promise of $4000 annual payments is attractive.
Protection for the Wisconsin Citizens who consider wind energy development leases
Providing a seven (7) day window of opportunity for the landowner to have the lease reviewed by legal counsel is a good start to protecting Wisconsin residents.
Considering the practice of soliciting lease agreements is a limited practice of law and not incidental to the work of the wind energy developers, it seems prudent for the wind energy developers to be Wisconsin licensed real estate brokers.
Advantage to the Public of Wind Turbine Developers being licensed real estate brokers:
An avenue of recourse through the Real Estate Board
Better disclosure of representation
Minimum level of competence for persons negotiating real estate transactions
Statutory defined duties of a broker:Fair and honest treatment. Reasonable Care and skill. Disclosure of material adverse facts. Confidentiality. Provide accurate market conditions. Accounting. Objective presentation of the lease.
Supervision standards for employees limiting who may discuss lease terms with the consumer
Administrative Rules
RL 15: Maintain copies of documents---Assures the public records of agreements and business practices are available for investigation
RL 16 Use of approved forms and legal advice—RL 16.05 prohibits the licensee from giving legal advice concerning rights and obligations. Will help with landowners being coerced into thinking their agreements are confidential.
RL 17 Protects the consumer from receiving real estate service from a non-licensed person.
RL 24 Conduct and ethical practices---Agreements are in writing, accurate representation of interests,
RL 25 Continuing Education—Keep the wind energy developer current with real estate laws
Provided by Tom Meyer, Wisconsin Real Estate Broker
HAVE YOU REACHED OUT AND TOUCHED YOUR PSC TODAY?
The PSC is asking for public comment on the recently approved draft siting rules. The deadline for comment is July 7th, 2010.
The setback recommended in this draft is 1250 feet from non-participating homes, 500 feet from property lines.
CLICK HERE and type in docket number 1-AC-231 to read what's been posted so far.
CLICK HERE to leave a comment on the Wind Siting Council Docket
The BPRC Research Nerd
in Invenergy, Wisconsin wind siting council, wind farm complaints, wind farm noise, wind farm property values, wind farm real estate, wind farm setbacks, wind farm shadow flicker, wind farm wisconsin, wisconsin wind energy
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5/13/10 A tale of two doctors speaking on problems with wind turbine noise: One doctor read about the trouble and decided there is no trouble, the other doctor conducted first hand medical interviews with people living within 3500 feet of industrial scale wind turbines and has come to a different conclusion.
Home for sale, Blue Sky/ Green Field project, Fond du Lac County, WI Photo: Jim Bembinster
On May 6th, 2010 two doctors gave presentations about wind turbine noise at the Rutland Regional Medical Center in Rutland, Vermont.
Robert J. McCunney, M.D. was one of the doctors hired by both the American Wind Energy Association and the Canadian Wind Energy Association to review existing peer-reviewed literature about possible negative health effects from wind turbines noise. He is credited as being one of the seven authors of a white paper called "Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects: An Expert Panel Review" which found no negative health effects from wind turbine noise.
Michael Nissenbaum, M.D. is specialist in diagnostic imaging, whose training and work involves developing and utilizing an understanding of the effects of energy deposition, including sound, on human tissues. He is a former Associate Director of MRI at a major Harvard hospital, a former junior faculty member at Harvard University. He conducted medical interviews with residents of the Mars Hill wind project in Maine, and with a control group of residents who live three miles from the project. His conclusions were quite different than those of the AWEA/CANWEA funded study.
The findings of these two medical professionals are detailed in a presentation which has been posted on YouTube in ten minute segments.
Click on the links below to watch
Part One: Introduction and opening remarks by Dr. McCunney
Part Four: Conclusion by Dr. McCunney, Opening remarks by Dr. Nissenbaum
Part Seven: Dr. Nissenbaum concluding remarks and questions for Dr. Nissenbaum and Dr. McCunney
The BPRC Research Nerd
in Dr. McCunnney Wind, Dr. Nissenbaum Wind, Wind farm health effects, wind energy, wind farm complaints, wind farm noise, wind farm property value, wind farm shadow flicker, wind farm sleep, wind farm wisconsin, wind power, wind turbine noise
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3/26/10 DOUBLE FEATURE: We Energies picks builders for Glacier Hills AND First Open Meeting of Wind Siting Council Monday, March 29, 2010 AND today's homework assignment
Butler Ridge Wind Farm in Dodge County
We Energies picks builders for Glacier Hills
SOURCE: The Daily Reporter
March 25, 2010
We Energies has selected The Boldt Co., Appleton; Michels Corp., Brownsville; and Edgerton Contractors Inc., Oak Creek, to build the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County. (Photo by Joe Yovino)
We Energies has selected three Wisconsin contractors to build the Glacier Hills Wind Park.
The three contractors are The Boldt Co., Appleton; Michels Corp., Brownsville; and Edgerton Contractors Inc., Oak Creek. The project to build a wind farm in Columbia County is scheduled to begin in May or June.
VISIT THE DAILY REPORTER’S PROJECT PROFILE PAGE ON THE GLACIER HILLS WIND PARK <http://dailyreporter.com/glacier-hills-wind-park/>
The project’s construction budget will be between $335 million and $413.5 million, depending on which type of turbines is used and the number of turbines in the farm, said We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey.
In April, the utility will nail down the number of turbines and their locations, he said.
SECOND FEATURE
SOURCE: Public Service Commission
Docket # 1-AC-231
MEETING NOTICE
Wind Siting Council 1-AC-231
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Pecatonica River Conference Room (Lower Floor)
Public Service Commission Building
610 North Whitney Way, Madison, Wisconsin
Monday, March 29, 2010, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Agenda
1) Greetings:
Overview of process and expectations, time line
Introduction of Commission staff working with Council
Open meeting requirements
Administration of Oath
2) Self-introductions by members of Wind Siting Council
3) Election of officers: Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary
4) Administrative:
Reimbursement of expenses
Schedule of Future Meetings
Designated substitutes
Instructions regarding use/enrolling in Electronic Regulatory Filing System (ERF)
Overview of rule-making process and additional Act 40 requirements
5) Review of Draft Rules Outline/topics
Explain how developed
Topics/items that are unclear
Topics/items not in outline which council recommends for inclusion
6) Discussion of how to proceed with future work
7) Next steps/Adjourn
This meeting is open to the public.
If you have any questions or need special accommodations, please contact Deborah Erwin at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin by telephone at (608) 266-3905 or via e-mail at deborah.erwin@wisconsin.gov.
NOTE FROM THE BPWI RESEARCH NERD:
Do Your Homework:
Visit the PSC docket for the siting council frequently to see the latest posts, and add comments of your own for PSC staff members to read and consider as they prepare summaries for the Commissioners.
If you want to be sure your comments are read by the commissioners themselves you'll have post your comments again during the later hearing phase so they will be considered testimony.
Visit the siting council docket by CLICKING HERE to get to the PSC website In the box that says "Link Directly to a Case", type in this docket number 1-AC-231
REQUIRED READING:
For those who are following the creation of the PSC siting guidelines, we'll be posting a series of documents and news stories for review.
Officials cover up wind farm noise report
The guidance from consultants indicated that the sound level permitted from spinning blades and gearboxes had been set so high - 43 decibels - that local people could be disturbed whenever the wind blew hard. The noise was also thought likely to disrupt sleep.
The report said the best way to protect locals was to cut the maximum permitted noise to 38 decibels, or 33 decibels if the machines created discernible "beating" noises as they spun.
It has now emerged that officials removed the warnings from the draft report in 2006 by Hayes McKenzie Partnership (HMP), the consultants. The final version made no mention of them.
It means that hundreds of turbines at wind farms in Britain have been allowed to generate much higher levels of noise, sparking protests from people living near them.
Among those affected is Jane Davis, 53, a retired National Health Service manager, who has had to abandon her home because of the noise.
It lies half a mile from the Deeping St Nicholas wind farm in south Lincolnshire whose eight turbines began operating in 2006.
"Our problems started three days after the turbines went up and they've carried on ever since. It's like having helicopters going over the top of you at times - on a bad night it's like three or four helicopters circling around," she said.
"We abandoned our home. We rent a house about five miles away - this is our fourth Christmas out of our own home. We couldn't sleep. It is torture - my GP describes it as torture. Three hours of sleep a night is torture."
The HMP report was commissioned by the business department whose responsibilities for wind power have since been taken over by Ed Miliband's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The decision to stick with existing noise limits became official guidance for local authorities ruling on planning applications from wind farm developers.
It has also been used by ministers and officials to support the view that there was no need to revise official wind farm noise guidelines and that erecting turbines near homes posed no threat to people's health and wellbeing.
In 2007 Mike Hulme of the Den Brook Judicial Review Group, a band of residents opposing a wind turbine development close to their houses in Devon, submitted a Freedom of Information request asking to see all draft versions of the study.
Officials refused the request, claiming it was not in the public interest for them to be released. Hulme appealed to the information commissioner's office, which has ordered Miliband's department to release the documents. The drafts show the HMP originally recommended that the night-time wind turbine noise limit should be reduced from 43 decibels to 38, or 33 if they made any kind of swishing or beating noise - known as "aerodynamic modulation".
The HMP researchers had based their recommendations on evidence. They took noise measurements at houses close to three wind farms: Askam in Cumbria, Bears Down in Cornwall and Blaen Bowi in Carmarthenshire.
They found that the swish-swish signature noise of turbines was significantly greater around most wind farms than had been foreseen by the authors of the existing government guidelines, which date from 1996. They also found that the beating sound is particularly disruptive at night, when other background noise levels are lower, as it can penetrate walls.
In their draft report the HMP researchers recommended that "Consideration be given to a revision of the night-time absolute noise criterion", noting that this would fit with World Health Organisation recommendations on sleep disturbance.
However, an anonymous government official then inserted remarks attacking this idea because it would impede wind farm development. He, or she, wrote: "What will the impact of this be? Are we saying that this is the situation for all wind farms ... I think we need a sense of the scale of this and the impact."
The final report removed any suggestion of cutting the noise limits or adding any further penalty if turbines generated a beating noise - and recommended local authorities to stick to the 1996 guidelines.
Hulme said: "This demonstrates the conflict of interests in DECC, because it has the responsibility for promoting wind farm development while also having responsibility for the wind farm noise guidance policy ... meant to protect local residents."
Ron Williams, 74, a retired lecturer, lives half a mile from the Wharrels Hill wind farm in Cumbria. He has been forced to use sleeping pills since its eight turbines began operating in 2007.
"The noise we get is the gentle swish swish swish, non-stop, incessant, all night," he said. "It's like a Chinese torture. In winter, when the sun is low in the sky, it goes down behind the turbines and causes flickering shadows coming into the room.
"It's like somebody shining car headlights at your window ... on and off, on and off. It affects us all. It's terrible. Absolutely horrible."
Lynn Hancock, 45, runs a garden maintenance business. She has suffered disruption since 2007 when the 12-turbine Red Tile wind farm began operating several hundred yards from her Cambridgeshire home.
"Imagine a seven-ton lorry left running on the drive all night and that's what it's like," she said. "People describe it as like an aeroplane or a helicopter or a train that never arrives. It's like it's coming but it never gets here."
Such problems are likely to increase. Britain has 253 land-based wind farms generating 3.5 gigawatts, but this is expected to double or even triple by 2020 to help to meet targets for cutting CO2 emissions.
Want more? CLICK HERE to read Today's 'Wind Turbines in the News'
OR on the links below to read the stories at their source
3/25/10 Ice, big winds hobble wind farm
SOURCE: Nova Scotia News- The Chronicle Herald
"Extreme winds, along with cold temperatures and a buildup of ice, crashed three test towers and halted power production at RMSenergy’s wind farm in Pictou County, said company president Reuben Burge in an interview in Halifax on Wednesday.
The heavy ice conditions stopped the blades from turning, resulting in a 20 per cent loss of production in January and February, he said.
Disease and wind turbines menace bat populations
SOURCE: Orangeville Citizen, Ontario
" A University of Calgary bat mortality study, conducted between 2006 and 2008, determined that the vast majority of bats found dead below turbines near Pincher Creek, Alberta, suffered severe injuries to their respiratory systems consistent with a sudden drop in air pressure – called barotrauma – that occurred when the animals got close to turbine blades.
The study showed that 90 per cent of the bats examined after death showed signs of internal hemorrhaging consistent with barotraumas, while only about half of the bats showed any evidence of direct contact with the blades."
CLICK HERE TO READ THE WHOLE STORY
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