UPDATE: 3 more properties now have liens against them.

(Click here to read story)

Noble liens hit 43 more properties

March 26, 2009 by Darcy Fargo in Malone Telegram

Just a week after it was first reported that mechanics liens had been filed on three area property owners on land used by Noble Environmental Power LLC, 43 more such documents were filed in the Franklin County Courthouse including two on the Village of Chateaugay.

On March 11, three liens filed by electrical contractor Stuart C. Irby Company of Jackson, Miss., indicated that Noble has not paid $784,692.88 for "electrical materials and equipment and related services in connection with the construction and installation of a wind turbine project known as ‘Noble
Chateaugay Windpark, LLC' in the State of New York."

Late Tuesday and early Wednesday, the 43 new liens totaling just shy of $3 million were filed in the Franklin County Clerk's office.

While the lien documents are filed as a liability on Noble Chateaugay Windpark LLC and Noble Constructors LLC, they also include the property owners. The liens filed March 11 were on properties owned by Michael Garrow of Chateaugay; another is owned by Alonso Domingo of West Orange, N.J.; and the other is owned by Marjorie Cornell of Pawling, and Gary Cornell of York, Pa.

Garrow, the Cornells and Domingo are also named in the new liens, filed by Aristeo Construction Company of Livonia, Mich., for "excavation and backfill of soil, installation of steel and concrete foundation systems for placement of turbines, and erection and installation of turbine components." Also named in liens some property owners having liens filed on multiple easement properties are the Village of Chateaugay, Harrigan Brothers Dairy Farm, Timothy and Ellen Chase, John and Pamela Carroll, Kenneth and Bernice Dumont, Daniel Boadway, Clement and Jodene Lavoie, Edward Prechtl, Trainer Real Estate, William and Mary Jones, Peter and Linda Neveu, Kurt Peets, Thomas and Brenda Rabideau, John and Francois Cutting, Eugene and Kathy Lavoie, John Beckett, Shari Spaulding, Harry Otis, Ronald and Sandra Weaver, Bruce and Debra Bennett, St. Lawrence Valley Dairy Inc., Douglas and Sharon Malette, and Lloyd and Luciella Gillette. The individual liens range from $12,813 to $128,439.

Aristeo, in the documents it filed, said it performed a total of $26.63 million in work for Noble.

Having a lien on a propertyin addition to potentially damaging credit scores renders the owner unable to obtain a clear title to the property. It can also impact the owners' ability to obtain loans and lines of credit.

Every individual reached for comment Wednesday night said they had not been made aware of the liens.

"This is the first I've heard of it," said Sharon Malette. "We don't know anything about it. We have no comment."

Chateaugay Village Trustee Pat Dragon said the Village had not been notified of the liens placed on properties it owns on Sancomb Road. The liens on the village-owned property total $85,626.16.

"I don't know that there's a lot that we can do," Dragon said. "We need to get some answers. A lien is a lien, and we can't just make it go away. I can't see us paying the lien it's definitely more than we¹re making off the windmills."

When asked if the village had any projects that it hoped to fund with borrowed funds, Dragon said the village had been considering loans for a sewer system upgrade.

"This could affect the sewer project," she said. "It's definitely not something we can blow off."

Shari Spaulding said she and her husband were also not aware that the liens had been filed.

"I saw the article last week, but I wasn't aware that there was (a lien) put on our property," she said. "I'm not sure where this loophole was or how they could have put liens on my property. Things don¹t add up.

"It's something we saw coming. We saw the other liens. It could be that (the contractors) are just trying to get people to push Noble. I guess I can't blame the contractors for their wanting money."

Spaulding said she and her husband "haven't heard anything from Noble" regarding the liens or regarding any financial difficulties.

Noble Environmental Power entered into easement agreements with more than 50 area landowners in Franklin County for use of land for wind turbine development. The agreements specific to the liens were entered into by property owners and Noble Chateaugay Windpark LLC one of many Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs) operated under Noble¹s umbrella.

Documents on file in the county clerk's office show at least 12 different LLCs under Noble's umbrella: Noble Bellmont Windpark LLC, Noble Burke Windpark LLC, Noble Chateaugay Windpark LLC, Noble Chateaugay II Windpark LLC, Noble Chateaugay LLC, Noble Chateaugay Windpark II LLC, Noble Cherry Hill Windpark LLC, Noble Clinton Windpark I LLC, Noble Development LLC, Noble Environmental Power LLC, Noble Constructors LLC, and Noble Environmental Power 2008 LLC. The LLCs are based in Delaware.

Web link: http://www.mtelegram.com/

Red Alert, Wisconsin

A draft of a bill that would allow the Public Service Commission to repeat the wind turbine siting disasters in Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties has been introduced by Senator Jeff Plale, (D- South Milwaukee) (scroll to end of post to read more).

This article, from Bob Vila's website, lets us know Wisconsin wind farm problems with turbine-related noise, shadow-flicker, and loss of property value are echoed by residents of industrial wind farms all over the country.

March 24, 2009

by Maureen Blaney Flietner

posted on BobVila.com

(Click here to read at source)

As the nation rushes to add renewable energy to its power portfolio, a growing chorus of homeowners and others are expressing concerns about how industrial wind projects are affecting health, safety, lifestyle and property values.

Green marketing campaigns typically show rows of industrial wind turbines in remote windy locales. However, wind projects are increasingly finding their way into rural residential areas.

With investment tax credits and government mandates advocating for additional installations, more homeowners and property owners may soon find themselves facing a turbine project proposal.

Low-profile yet widespread concerns expressed from Kansas and Wisconsin to Vermont and Pennsylvania about industrial wind complexes are showing up all over the Internet.

The efforts of community groups and various experts to bring a full discussion to light of the costs and effects of turbines are resulting in a small but growing green backlash.

Homeowner Problems

"We've been given a life sentence," says Larry Lamont describing his life since 88 industrial wind turbines, each nearly 400 feet tall, were inserted among the homes, farmettes and farms in the rolling landscape of Fond du Lac County, Wis., where he lives.

Lamont and his wife, Carol, moved there more than 30 years ago, renovating a pre-Civil War-era stone house and adding a 17 x 13-foot window wall to enjoy the views of the one-acre pond they dug and the wooded hills beyond.

When they heard about wind turbines coming to the area, they were supportive at first and even wanted one sited on their property. "We believed in them," says Lamont.

That belief has changed.

They now have three turbines closer to their home than one proposed for their property would have been.

The family has experienced significant sleep disturbances, although, Lamont says, "we had been told it would sound like the refrigerator running."

They have also lost their viewscape. "It was suggested that we pull a curtain over our window wall." The impact has been total, he says.

"Ducks and geese that had summered on the pond for the past 25 years left mid-summer and never returned and the bat houses on the barn also were abandoned," he says.

"Wind towers are known to be fatal to bats because their lungs are ruptured by the pressure change created by the turbine blades. Now all we see on the pond is the reflection of the turbines, including their red lights at night."

Wendy Todd and her husband raised three children in Portland, Maine, but it was her dream to return home to the small community of Mars Hill in the northeast section of the state.

They were thrilled when her parents, second-generation farmers there, gave them four acres adjacent to their property to build a home. A wind project had been given an initial go-ahead by the town council in 2002, but it still had to go through permitting phases with the state.

The Todds broke ground for their foundation in June 2005 and moved into their nearly completed home in December 2005. In March 2006, Todd says, it was clear the wind project was a go.

In late winter/early spring of 2006, trees were cut down to make way for the wind project.

"The first turbine to start the testing protocol was No. 9 in December of 2006," he says, "Residents questioned what the noise was about. We figured it must be part of the testing phase because we were told at all public meetings that the turbines made little to no noise. In March of 2007, the project went online and we knew for sure that we were in trouble."

"The only negative brought up at meetings was the visual impact," she says. "It was said that if you could get over how big they were, then everything else would be okay. Most of us bought into that. There were a few opposed early on but they came across as troublemakers.

Now, the Todds have eight 1.5-megawatt turbines near them with the closest just 2,400 feet from their home. After the 28-turbine project went online in March 2007, the Todds and others to the north and east of the project started having trouble with noise, she says.

"Noise was asked about at all the meetings, but we were told time and again that the turbines were silent or nearly silent...What we have found living next to them is that there are huge variations in the noise emitted.

On pleasant days, the noise is more bearable but, whenever turbines are running, they can be heard.

More often than not, the wind is stronger and steadier in the winter and at night.

From 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. they often wail, making it difficult to sleep. "But no one is out and about in tour buses then," she says. The noise from the turbines can go for two or three hours but sometimes goes for days.

"When a blade passes the tower, it creates a thump, sort of like rap music. It can be felt in your chest and on the soles of your feet."

In addition, shadow flicker-a strobing effect as blade shadows rapidly sweep the land after sunrise and before sunset-has been an "invasion to our home and land," Todd says.

She says it is much like someone turning lights on and off in the house. Outside, she says, it pulls your attention in the direction it is moving, making you dizzy, even sick to your stomach.

"It's changed the way we live. We built around the views. The project has destroyed the views. Turbines overpower the hillside," she says.

Besides noise and health issues, she wonders about property devaluation and is upset that she would have to try to sell a home that is "smack dab in the middle of Mom and Dad's property."

Rene Taylor and her husband purchased a century-old restored Victorian home in Ellsworth, Ill., in 2004 as a quiet rural property where they could keep some horses and raise their kids.

Now they have three turbines 1,500 to 1,800 feet to the north of their property, a project substation 870 feet from their east property line and 1,100 feet from their home.

Taylor can see 150 of the 240 turbines in the project. "We're kind of surrounded," she says. When the winds are high, she says, the sound is like the rumble of a train that produces a vibration in your body. She says her 11-year-old daughter tells her: "The hamster is running in my chest again."

They had heard about a possible wind project about three weeks before they closed on the property. "We always considered ourselves to be ‘green' and thought we would see a few up on a hill."

The high-pitched buzz and hum from the substation and the turbine noise and vibrations now have caused the family, including a high-functioning autistic child, to have headaches and trouble sleeping. They haven't tried to sell yet because they have to pay down the mortgage first, Taylor says, but she is also concerned about whether they will face problems when they do go to sell.

Noise and Health Concerns

The problems being experienced by these homeowners and others are not isolated. As wind turbine projects grow in number, footprints beyond the turbine pad sites extend into thousands of acres and turbines gain size, more concerns have been expressed about effects not only in the U.S. but in Europe as well. The third international conference on wind turbine noise is planned for June 17-19, 2009 in Alborg, Denmark.

In Rumford, Maine, members of the medical staff of Rumford Hospital issued a press release in February asking for a moratorium on wind projects. The announcement noted that "there is a literature emerging worldwide expressing a multitude of side effects affecting those who live, work or attend school in the vicinity of wind farms. The health hazards include problems arising not only from audible noise frequencies but also from inaudible low frequency noise waves."

Richard James, principal consultant for E-Coustic Solutions of Okemos, Mich., has more than 35 years of experience addressing community noise for new and existing industrial and commercial facilities and has presented his findings across the country as local governments review industrial wind proposals.

James says there are three main problems for homeowners that neighbor turbines.

Two are a combination of audible sounds-one is similar to the sound of an airport in the distance and the second is a woosh-woosh sound of moving blades similar to a helicopter flying overhead-both of which are uncharacteristic of a rural environment, particularly at night, he says.

The third problem is low-frequency acoustic energy, best described as a vibration felt inside homes.

What confuses the situation is that sounds can affect each person differently and low-frequency vibration can depend on a home's construction and the shape of its rooms.

Those most at risk, he says, are people with pre-existing medical conditions, those 60 and older when sleep problems are more common and children under six.

He suggests that setbacks from homes should be at least a mile with noise limits of 35 decibels, maximum, using the A-weighting filter (i.e. dBA) to measure the audible part of the noise and 55 decibels, maximum, using the C-Weighting filter (i.e. dBC) to measure the low-frequency non-audible sound outside a home.

"Thirty-five decibels at night will be audible in the country unless the home is within a few miles from a major highway," James says. "That's why 1,000 feet from a home, where some turbines have been placed, can seem so outrageously loud."

Property Values

For Barbara Pitcairn, Owner/Designated Broker for Maine's Presque Isle and Fort Kent offices of Aroostook Real Estate, the devaluation of property is a big issue.

"Why would anyone want to live close to that level of noise and be consistently affected by the shadow flicker these giant turbines generate?"

She says a majority of her sales are to people relocating from southern New England and many desire building or purchasing their retirement home away from the traffic and noise.

"Most want privacy and seclusion so they can enjoy northern Maine's way of life," she says.

Pitcairn says it is her broker's professional opinion that several of the homes located near wind turbines on Mars Hill Mountain suffer from diminished value.

Jim Shaw, owner/broker for Northern Maine Realty in Mars Hill, says that he has had no issues with selling property, living near or renting cabins on the west side of the wind project on Mars Hill Mountain.

However, he does say that those on the opposite side of the project must sometimes contend with a noise similar to a low-flying jet aircraft or a waterfall. As far as property values, Shaw says that since there have not been any properties sold to confirm a drop in value, there is no proof of devaluation.

When Derry Gardner of Gardner Appraisal Group, Inc. out of San Antonio, Texas, hears that turbines do not affect property values or neighboring property values, he says, "it goes against common sense, which automatically raises a red flag."

He cites market data showing diminished values. He also says it's important that any value analysis of property use a commonly accepted method such as the paired sales analysis, which is part of the methodology used under the direct sales comparison approach.

With that, a property's characteristics-such as market conditions over time, improvements and location-are considered. Similar properties are then identified and some of the variant features become the reason for the difference in value.

Gardner says a 350-acre ranch in Erath County, Texas, is one example. It was purchased at top price for a retirement homestead. The new owner learned that 27 wind turbines were to be placed within a 1.5-mile radius and put the ranch up for sale. A prospective buyer agreed to the sales price but backed out when the turbine project was disclosed.

The seller offered a 25 percent discount but the prospective buyer declined, says Gardner.

He points to sales of seven rural Texas tracts between March 2006 and August 2007 in which contributory values of improvements were deducted from each sales with all other characteristics considered similar.

Properties with turbines averaged a 37 percent decrease in value, properties two-tenths to four-tenths of a mile from turbines had a 26 percent average drop and properties in which turbines were up to 1.8 miles away experienced an average value decrease of 25 percent.

According to Michael McCann of McCann Appraisals LLC in Chicago, Ill., "Turbines are large-scale industrial machines/projects, which surround homes, unlike any other large-scale projects. I have never seen a situation akin to wind farms where an industrial zoning ‘overlay' encompasses and surrounds existing homes.

No other industrial, retail or other type of large-scale project gets approved without first buying out the existing residences rather than surrounding them. A home is the biggest investment most people have in their life and deserves value protection from a dominating land use, which generates profits for the developers and is claimed to be for the public good.

It would seem that most wind energy companies are unwilling to compensate people fairly for value loss....nor buy them out."

McCann, a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser who has qualified as an expert witness on real estate value and zoning cases in 20 states, has reviewed residential sale data for 46 transactions near the boundaries of Illinois' first wind project, Mendota Hills, in Lee County that occurred after turbines were erected from 2003 through March 2005, "a strong market overall."

The homes averaged a sale price of $74.63 per square foot, he says. A separate group of sales much further removed from the project averaged $102.94 per square foot.

Most homes were older farmstead residences and modest ranch-type homes typical of those found in rural Illinois. He says the sales data reveals that the typical home within a mile or two of project boundaries is 25 percent lower in value than for more distant homes. Some examples range upward of 30 percent and, in softer current market conditions, he anticipates value discounts exceeding 30 percent and perhaps as high as 50 percent.

It is important to keep zoning districts separate to provide for compatibility of uses and to protect property values, health, safety and welfare of residents, says McCann.

Farm areas have a pre-existing established residential character that is typically a "permitted" use.

He says the Obama administration missed the opportunity to require value protection of project footprint homes in the stimulus bill when extending the wind energy tax credits to 2012.

"That would have cost the taxpayers nothing and, at worst, would have re-allocated the funds for one percent or two percent of the turbines, which cost about $2 million each," he says.

"Since the turbines do not run at 100 percent of nameplate capacity, no energy would have been lost and homeowners would have been taken fairly into the equation of this wind energy trend."

Benefit Concerns and Wildlife Impacts

In 2004, Lisa Linowes and her husband were planning the renovation of an old farmhouse they had purchased when they heard about a wind project possibly coming to their New Hampshire town. With a little digging, she says, she determined that the project was not a good idea and set out on a quest to educate herself and others.

In 2006, she and others formed Industrial Wind Action Group to play a proactive, leadership role with fact-based analyses to assist communities and to advise officials at federal, state and local levels. Her immersion in the topic has made Linowes a recognized wind and land use expert.

She serves as the group's executive director and has been invited to speak and to be a panelist at numerous venues across the country, including the 12th annual Midwest Energy Conference of the Midwest Chapter of the Energy Bar Association in March in Chicago.

Many issues have arisen about industrial wind turbines not only for homeowners but for taxpayers and nature lovers as some expected benefits turn out to be less than originally estimated and impacts on wildlife, such as bats, begin to be understood. Linowes says she hopes to "put the cold hard facts on the table and to take emotion out of the room."

NOTE FROM THE BPWI RESEARCH NERD:

Nightmare on Greenstreet: Senator Jeff Plale's turbine siting reform bill and what it means to rural Wisconsin:

While Senator Plale pushes forward with a bill which would allow the PSC to site turbines as close as 1000 feet from the homes of neighbors of landowners who host wind turbines, it should be noted that Senator Plale will have no wind turbines in his district, and no constituents who will be affected by this bill. ]

The main impact will be on residents of rural Wisconsin.

Though the bill mentions no specifics about setbacks, noise limits, and other siting concerns, it is very clear about giving turbine siting approval to the PSC.

The PSC approved the siting of turbines 1000 feet from non-participating residents homes, 440 feet from hosting landowner's homes, and a noise limit of 50 decibels. Residents in the PSC approved wind farms of Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties are now having a hard time living with the disastrous results.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A DRAFT OF SENATOR PLALE'S BILL

Please call your legislators (click here to find out who they are and how to contact them) and let them know if they want wind turbine siting reform, it should be based it on the Town of Union's Large Wind Ordinance, not not on numbers provided to the PSC by a Florida Utility. (Click here to read more on this)

(Click here to download the Union Ordinance)

(Click here to download the Wisconsin draft Model ordinance, which has since been pulled from the PSC website)

When it comes to siting industrial scale wind farms, wind developers don't want towns, villages and counties to have any say at all.

Well-paid lobbyists have worked hard to convince our legislators to 'fast-track' wind farm development by stripping local government of its power to regulate how wind turbines are sited in their communities, and by overturning existing ordinances created to protect the health and safety of residents.

Senator Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee) has drafted a bill which will help wind developers do just that. The bill is now being circulated around the capitol.

Wisconsin isn't the only state facing wind developer strong arm tactics. Similar bills have been introduced in a few other states.

How is this legislation playing out in other parts of the country?

This just in from the state of Maine:

Towns Keep Control over Wind, Lawmakers reject bill to transfer permitting authority to the State

By Kevin Miller
Bangor Daily News
March 21, 2009

AUGUSTA, Maine — Lawmakers heard hours of often emotional testimony Thursday on bills that highlight growing tensions over the use of Maine's abundant wind and water resources.

Much of the debate focused on the roles municipalities and local residents play when wind-energy companies and water bottlers come to town.

Dozens of people turned out to oppose a controversial and short-lived proposal that aimed to speed up development of industrial-scale wind power by limiting municipalities' ability to control where massive turbines are located.

LD 199 would preclude local ordinances in many areas of Maine and give state regulators authority over siting and design of large wind farms. Committee members quickly rejected the bill, however, in a unanimous “ought not to pass” vote.

Maine is home to two large wind-energy facilities — a 28-turbine wind farm in Mars Hill and a 38-turbine wind farm on Stetson Mountain in northern Washington County. Numerous others are in various stages of development.

But critics contend that in their rush to capitalize on the thirst for green energy, state officials are ignoring the potential impacts that industrial wind turbines can have on neighbors.

Those impacts include loss of enjoyment of their homes, sleep deprivation from noise caused by the spinning blades, lower property values and even sickness caused by low-frequency noise or vibrations. Critics also contend the turbines ruin scenery important to tourism and can harm wildlife.

Steve Bennett, who lives approximately 3,000 feet from the wind turbines recently built in Freedom, said many people in his town did not realize how large and audible the turbines would be. Bennett said he can hear the turbines regularly inside his home. In the morning, he said, sun flicker lights up rooms in his house like a strobe light.

“One of our selectmen told me, ‘Steve, you won’t even see them much less hear them,’” Bennett said. “Well, you should come to my house.”

(CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE STORY AT ITS SOURCE)

On Wednesday the Wisconsin State Journal ran an editorial urging our lawmakers to support Senator Plale's bill. (Click here to read it) Once again, the the editors used the worn-out stereotype "Not-in-my-back-yard" (NIMBY) to dismiss the troubles of residents now living in PSC- approved Wisconsin wind farms, as well as those with legitimate questions and concerns about Senator Plale's bill.

Instead of investigating widespread reports of problems with turbine noise, shadow flicker and loss of property value in the wind farms in Fond du Lac Dodge Counties, or investigating the dubious source of the PSC's siting guidelines -which helped create these siting disasters-, or checking into the reports of the bats and birds now being killed by the Fond du Lac and Dodge turbines, the Wisconsin State Journal simply advises, "Don't Blow Chance For Wind Power"

Wind power is not the best renewable energy option for our state, but it's the renewable energy option with the most money and muscle behind it. And editorials like this make us worried the the Wisconsin State Journal is not doing the most important thing a newspaper can do: tell the whole story.

We like to think there is at least one journalist at the Wisconsin State Journal willing to do some good old-fashioned investigative reporting on this story if at least one editor that will let them. To WSJ we say, "Don't Blow Chance For Big Story"

Responses to the WSJ's editorial can be found in the "Comments" section, including our own. (click here to read them all)

After you read them, please feel free to add your own comments, or better yet, Click here to contact your legislators and let them know how you feel about this editorial and Senator Plale's bill.

Let them know that if they want statewide siting reform it should be based it on the Town of Union's Large Wind Ordinance, not on the PSC's recycled ordinance guidelines which were provided by a Florida utility.

Big Wind is not the only choice in Wisconsin for renewable energy. It's not the best choice by far. It's just the one with the slickest salesmen. And so far, WSJ journalists don't seem to be asking them any hard questions.

NOW HEAR THIS: From the Tri-County News: (click here for source)

READER OPINION-Study points to health hazards of wind turbines

To the editor:

Developers of industrial wind facilities purport the safety and benefits of living close to wind turbines.

A closer look paints a far different story.

Doctors throughout the world have conducted studies on the health effects of industrial wind facilities including Dr. Robert McMurtry, Ontario, Canada; Dr. Nina Pierpont, USA; Dr. Amanda Harry, UK; and Dr. Robin Phipps, New Zealand.

Dr. Pierpont reports Wind Turbine Syndrome is the disruption of sensory input to eyes, ear and stretch and pressure receptors in a variety of body locations."

She also states, "One does not have to be able to hear low frequency noise and vibration to experience the effects described as Wind Turbine Syndrome."

You don't have to travel far to investigate the reports of health concerns.

In a recent listening session held by state Senator Joe Leibham in Fond du Lac County, over 50 people shared concerns including negative health effects attributed to the turbines since the project went on line.

Many report jet engine and wooshing sounds day and night, sleep problems, headaches, dizziness, exhaustion, and depression.

Included in the list of complaints are continuous shadow flicker, strobe light effect and loss of property values leading to mental stress.

Those living near turbines report, "pulsations laying down in bed and when the turbines get into a particular position, tremors going through your body...it feels like something is vibrating your body like sitting in a vibrating chair but your body is not moving."

McMurtry states, "I am really concerned because there have been too many reports in too many places around the world about ill effects, adverse effects on health, the low frequency noise has a particular problem and a number of people have reported ill effects including headaches, dizziness, and ringing in their ears or something worse."

Others report that the shadow flicker can be seen even with the eyes closed especially when waking up.

The constant motion is distracting even in your home, yet the wind turbine developers continue to report that shadow flicker is minimal and of no concern.

Yet, those living in the industrial facility seeking remediation from the shadow flicker are being offered to be a part of the "shade abatement" program where WE Energies purchases window shades for their homes.

If there were no problems to begin with why the remediation programs?

Pierpont reports, "Developer statements and preconstruction modeling lead communities to believe that disturbances from noise and vibration will be negligible or nonexistent."

Dr. Pierpont (USA), Dr. Phipps (New Zealand) and Dr. Harry (UK) are calling for a minimum of 1.5 miles from homes; France's National Academy of Medicine calls for a one mile minimum setback; the United Kingdom Noise Association calls for a one mile setback, and at one time, Renew Wisconsin also recommended a one mile setback.

Those living in or near industrial wind facilities experiencing health-related concerns are encouraged to contact county health departments and keep track of symptoms and numbers of calls placed stating you are expecting a call back regarding your concerns.

Also, make sure to tell your health care professionals that you are living in an area where industrial wind turbines are operating and have symptoms similar to Wind Turbine Syndrome.

Respectfully,

Diane Hoerth and Teresa Hahn

Red Alert, Wisconsin

A draft of a bill that would allow the Public Service Commission to repeat the wind turbine siting disasters in Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties has been introduced by Senator Jeff Plale, (D- South Milwaukee) This bill would allow the developers to site wind turbines even closer to the Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. How green is a bird and bat killing machine?

On the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and the Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge:

Click on the image above to watch a short video showing industrial wind turbines along the Horicon Marsh. Environmental groups asked for a set back of at least four miles. The PSC approved a two mile setback. They also agreed to reconsider approving a 1.2 mile setback from the marsh should the developer request they do so.

Post construction studies are showing that birds and bats are being killed by the wind turbines along the Horicon Marsh. (Click here to find out more)

This will only continue. If there are renewable energy options that don't destroy habitat or kill wildlife, why does the PSC approve such projects?

How much does the PSC really know about siting wind turbines?

There are better, much more environmentally friendly renewable energy choices. Why endanger wildlife and destroy habitat when we don't have to?

Report: Alternative energy quest endangering birds

Associated Press

19 March 2009

As the Obama administration pursues more homegrown energy sources, a new government report faults energy production of all types — wind, ethanol and mountaintop coal mining — for contributing to steep drops in bird populations.

The first-of-its-kind government report chronicles a four-decade decline in many of the country’s bird populations and provides many reasons for it, from suburban sprawl to the spread of exotic species to global warming.

In almost every case, energy production is also playing a role.

“Energy development has significant negative effects on birds in North America,” the report concludes.

Birds can collide with wind turbines and oil and gas wells, and studies have shown that some species, such as Prairie-chickens and sage grouse, will avoid nesting near the structures.

Ponds created during the extraction of coalbed methane gas breed mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus, leading to more bird deaths. Transmission lines, roads to access energy fields and mountaintop removal to harvest coal can destroy and fragment birds’ living spaces.

Environmentalists and scientists say the report should signal to the Obama administration to act cautiously as it seeks to expand renewable energy production and the electricity grid on public lands and tries to harness wind energy along the nation’s coastlines.

The report also shows that conservation efforts can work. Birds that reside in wetlands and the nation’s waterfowl have rebounded over the past 40 years, a period marked by increased protections for wetlands.

“We need to go into these energies with our environmental eyes open,” said John Fitzpatrick, the director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which helped draft the report along with non-profit advocacy groups. “We need to attend to any form of energy development, not just oil and gas.”

Many of the bird groups with the most rapid declines in the last 40 years inhabit areas with the greatest potential for energy development.

Among the energy-bird conflicts cited by the report:

- More than half of the monitored bird species that live on prairies have experienced population losses. These birds, such as the Lesser Prairie Chicken, are threatened by farmers converting grasslands into corn fields to meet demand for biofuels.

- In the Arctic, where two-thirds of all shorebirds are species of concern, melting ice brought about by climate change could open up more areas to oil and gas production. Studies show that trash near drilling rigs attracts gulls that prey on other species.

- Mountaintop coal mining in Appalachia clears patches of forest contributing to the decline of birds like the Cerulean warbler that breeds and forests in treetops.

The U.S. State of Birds report, released by the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday, was requested in October 2007 by President George W. Bush.

While its findings are similar to earlier studies, it is the first to be issued by the government and the agency in charge of managing energy production on public lands and protecting the nation’s wildlife. The report did not indicate whether one form of energy production is more detrimental than the other.

—

On the Net:

State of The Birds report: http://www.stateofthebirds.org

Department of Interior: http://www.doi.gov

Associated Press

19 March 2009

Red Alert, Wisconsin

A draft of a bill that would allow the Public Service Commission to repeat the wind turbine siting disasters in Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties has been introduced by Senator Jeff Plale, (D- South Milwaukee) (scroll to end of post to read more).

Most people have only seen pictures of wind turbines provided by developers or lobbyists showing a bright turbine against a blue sky with a grassy field below.

These pictures never show homes near turbines. But residents in Wisconsin wind farms are having a hard time living with the inadequate setbacks approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.

Click on the image below to see what homes in a Fond du Lac County wind farm really look like.

Click on the image below to hear from a resident in this wind farm who has a turbine 1100 feet from his home. (For those whose internet connection is not fast enough to view this video, scroll down to read the transcript of this video)

Q. What can you tell us about your experience of what's happened here?

Larry Wunsch: This project started about four years ago when they first came into the area here. A lot neighbors in the area got wind of this kind of late.

In fact I first found out about this when a person from the company came here on my property and asked me if I wanted to host some of the turbines.

And then we investigated over the course of the next couple of months and found out the size of the project and how close the turbines could be to my property and of course there were a lot of questions and especially there were a lot of issues.

And as we got into it we found that the energy company was lying to the board, they had the board bought into the project, it is a state project, in other words it has to be approved by the state public service commission -- and it just seemed like we were a small group trying to fight this-- it was big money and we just didn't have the resources or the money to continue the fight.

And, well, as you can see I have one 1100 feet from my house. Issues that we've heard about from other people who live in wind farms-- shadow flicker, noise,-- for instance this one (points to the turbine)

-(Interviewer:-I can hear the noise, it's quite loud, I don't know if the camcorder is picking it up or not-- and you say it gets much louder when it's winder? There's not much wind today---)

There's only about ten mile an hour winds and when the winds are like 15 and gusting, it sounds like a jet engine on a taxi way of an airport is what it sounds like.

The shadow flicker-- (points to turbine) that is the west direction-- and the sun gets right behind it.

This time of year it gets right behind it. (Video shows sweeping shadows going over the entire house, outbuildings and surrounding property)

So I have a blade flicker that flickers over everything in the house here. I have a sun room off the back of the house where it looks like someone is flashing a camera.

Now maybe some people can adjust to that, but I can't. My wife and I have a real hard time with this. We have a lot of money invested in our property. This our home, everything we have is invested in this property , and I guess the change from that (points to turbine) to what we had is the problem we're dealing with.

Q: You mentioned that if the windows are open in your house you'd hear this noise on a windy day can you describe when you hear it at night, would it wake you up at night?

Here's what the difference is.

When you walk out in the field you can hear the wind through your ears, but if you stand inside my bedroom which is off the front of the house here, you're standing in a completely quiet environment.

And if I open up my windows (points to turbine) that's the sound I hear.

I don't have wind running through my bedroom. I'm hearing the sound of the turbine.

So people will say "Well I went to a wind farm project, and we listened and it wasn't that bad."

But you've got to be in an environment where it's quiet and you open up the windows.

That's where our argument is about the noise.

And not only this one (points to turbine) but even ones that are farther away-- some of those out 2000 feet, I can still hear those today.

Q. How big of a project is this? How many turbines are here?

The project is cleared for over 100 megawatts. The project is 133 wind turbines. They have 88 of them up now, this is Phase One, they are going into a Phase Two.

So with the setbacks they could actually put more into our township. I don't know. I sure hope they don't do that.

Q: Have you talked to some of your neighbors in the area? How are they impacted and what are their thoughts on this project?

We have a group of neighbors that has pitted [members of] the township against each other.

If you drive through our township you'll see signs that say "Good Neighbors Don't Put up 400 Foot Wind Turbines"

You know, it's all about money. It doesn't have anything to do with renewable energy. And I think the people who are hosting them are aware of that. But you know-- there are definitely two sides to the township.

Q: How many people would you say are impacted by this development?

There's probably-- I'm guessing in our township-- and we have this in the corner of our town--- I'm guessing we have about 20 to 30 landowners that are impacted.

There are only about eight that are hosting the the turbines. So the rest are non hosters, is what it is.

People will argue that we're "Not In My Back Yard" people, but I would ask that when you go up to someone who advocates wind turbines, especially the developers ask them if they have a wind turbine 1100 feet from their house.

Ask them --when they get out of their house, where ever they live, how many wind turbines they see.

Q. What are your thoughts on how issues were handled at the local government level?

The whole board-- now remember this-- in the town of Byron, Fond du Lac county here, all three board members do not live in the project. They live in the outskirts of the project.

The six people on the board of appeals that decides on the project-- none of them can see the project, so that gives you a little bit of insight as to how that was decided.

Q. Do you have anything else you want to add insofar as what it's done to the community or how people feel about it?

My recommendation to anyone looking at wind development is to take their time and study things.

Research it out. There's a lot of stuff out there.Wind development in the country is fairly new.

In the state of Wisconsin, this is the first project of this size. They've had smaller projects but-- this was "Slam, Bang, Boom, sign this, sign this, let's get this project going, and we never took the time to research property values, which we asked for-- a property value protection plan--- which they said "We can't really do that, we'll never get the financing"-- which was a bunch of BS. They could have done that for us.

That would have put me more at ease, knowing if I couldn't sell my property I would have a back up plan.

Q: ... There is a big push for a certain percentage of renewable energy by a certain date-- what are your thoughts on that?

There's a leading manufacturer who employs five hundred people in the city of Fond du Lac. They use 20 megawatts of electricity. That's their normal production need.

These are GE 1.5 megawatts and they need a 30 mile an hour wind-- almost a 30 mile an hour wind to produce 1.5 megawatts.

You need 15 of these, turning in a 30 mile an hour wind operating at 100% efficiency in order to power one leading manufacturer in Fond du Lac.

The state of Wisconsin wants 10% of the states electrical to come from wind turbines? It don't happen.

I researched this stuff. WInd turbines are nothing but a scam-- in my vision--- the rate payer and the tax payers are paying for this. My electrical went up 8% already, we're going to be paying for these things and certain small share holders are going to be making millions of dollars.

Q: What about jobs, we hear a lot jobs, about how this is going to be good for the economy-- and they're going to bring a lot of jobs to the area.

This project-- the construction started in September. Was pretty much wrapped up by mid-January, February, with one major construction company, and I'm sure there were a lot of jobs, I mean it gave jobs for three or four months. Now it's done.

So they'll have a maintenance group-- and I wouldn't have an idea how many-- I would think a maintenance group to look after 133 wind turbines consisting for about 8 people-- so they are providing work for 8 people here with this project?

Q: Are these local jobs? Around the area? Do you know?

That I'm not sure of.

Q: Do you have anything else you want to add?

I willing to give my name and help people out. Like I said, this is going to affect our life and I'm outspoken, I'm not afraid to talk about it.

I'm not trying to grind an ax here, I just want to make sure people understand that if a wind turbine gets placed 1100 feet from their house-- I want them to understand it's a possible impact not just on their lives but on the lives of [others living ] where the wind turbine is going to be.

Q: So what you're saying is 1100 feet isn't far enough away.

No. If it was a mile-- I think that I could live with it. Even though I don't like it-- like I said I think it's a scam--- its a fleecing of America to tell you the truth, but if it was a mile away I could probably live with it. But 1100 feet, no. I can't.

Q: Could they come into a community like this and put them up at a greater setback

They could but, state statute--- now, remember the energy companies in 2001 lobbied to create a state statute that produced a model ordinance that said they could put them up to a 1000 feet [from homes]

Of course the board that put this together was energy company officials.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING SENATOR PLALE'S TURBINE SITING REFORM BILL FROM THE BPWI RESEARCH NERD :

It should be noted that Senator Plale will have no wind turbines in his district, and no constituents who will be affected by this bill. The main impact will be on residents of rural Wisconsin.

Though the bill mentions no specifics about setbacks, noise limits, and other siting concerns, it is very clear about giving turbine siting approval to the PSC.

The PSC approved the siting of turbines 1000 feet from non-participating residents homes, and a noise limit of 50 decibels. Residents in the PSC approved wind farms of Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties are now having a hard time living with the disastrous results.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A DRAFT OF SENATOR PLALE'S BILL

After you read it, please call your legislators (click here to find out who they are and how to contact them) and let them know if they want wind turbine siting reform, it should be based it on the Town of Union's Large Wind Ordinance, not a "recycled ordinance guidelines provided by an out-of-state utility"

(Click here to download the Union Ordinance)

(Click here to download the Wisconsin draft Model ordinance, which has since been pulled from the PSC website)