May 25, 2007
Ohio
Ohio
EverPower Renewables Project Manager Mike Speerschneider answered questions of Wayne Township citizens at a meeting Wednesday night, addressing wind turbines and the possibility of turbines in Wayne Township.
Speerschneider touched on issues concerning electricity, road damage, local labor and the health of citizens living near the turbines.
He said the turbines will not generate a decrease in the cost of electricity for Wayne Township because there is “no way to definitively say what it’s (turbines) going to do to the electric.”
EverPower Renewables will assume responsibility for all costs of roadwork for the project and address the road damage concerns, Speerschneider said.
“The project will bear the cost and repair roads to prior conditions,” he said.
The wind turbine project would hire some local labor to help with the maintenance of the turbines. Speerschneider said the turbines will have a full-time maintenance crew of no more than 10 people. The construction and maintenance of the turbines will include some specialized labor.
Some citizens expressed concerns for the health of people living near and around the turbines. Speerschneider said there have been claims, but no proof, that turbines affect any aspect of the general health of a person.
EverPower Renewables is more concerned about the habitats and the company does not place turbines in sensitive areas, said Speerschneider.
The placement of the wind turbines was also of concern to some people.
Speerschneider said most turbines are about 400 feet high and can reach up to 500 feet. He recommends the turbines be set back from the road and other structures at least 500 feet, but stresses that 1,000 feet is safer.
Sandra Turner, a member of the zoning commission, said she and other members of the board are “here for the people of Wayne Township.”
“We want Wayne Township to prosper from this,” she said. “We want the area to prosper and if they can make money off this, that’s great.”
By Sarah Perry
Staff Writer
The Urbana Daily Citizen
24 May 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/05/25/cable-area-residents-hear-wind-turbine-details/