July 8, 2009
Missouri
Missouri
Maybe you’ve seen those big wind turbines north of Kansas City.
Resident Charlie Porter is suing over the noise. His 20-acre farm north of King City is surrounded by the giant wind turbines.
“On a bad day, what does it sound like?” KMBC’s Kris Ketz asked Porter.
“It sounds like a helicopter, or a train coming that never arrives,” Porter said.
Ketz reported that there are 27 wind turbines around Porter’s farm, and there are seven that stand about 2,500 feet from his house.
Porter took home video of the noise the turbines made.
“And I started complaining from the time they put orange stakes in the ground. I said, ‘You’re putting these too close to people’s houses,'” Porter said.
The Wind Capital Group, based in St. Louis, developed the King City wind farm and several others in northwest Missouri.
“The thing I think most of the farmers around here appreciate is, for their size and everything, they don’t take up any room. You can still run cattle around them and farm up next to them. The lease money coming in will help for several years, I imagine,” according to a promotional video by Wind Capital Group.
The electricity generated from the wind turbines is used all over Missouri.
Porter said the noise is so bad that he’s selling his farm and moving to town, and he’s suing Wind Capital Group.
The president of Wind Capital Group said the company has tens of thousands of acres under lease, and that Porter is the only one who has raised any concerns.
The company has gone to court to keep Porter from threatening employees or damaging property.
Wind Capital Group said Porter’s claims have no merit.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2009/07/08/missouri-man-sues-over-wind-turbine-noise/