August 3, 2011
Illinois, Letters

Before it’s too late

www.bcrnews.com 3 August 2011

Following the leader … In this case, the leader will be common sense. Unlike a child who has to learn common sense, we took the time to educate ourselves on the upcoming development of wind energy in our communities. We were appalled by what we learned.

We are a group of concerned individuals, sharing a common resolve in seeing that Bureau County retains its proud and productive agricultural and rural living heritage and isn’t converted into a “border to border” industrial complex. We heard the complaints of the people in the Big Sky project near Ohio and saw the reaction of the wind company. For all the wind company claims to be good neighbors, we could not see their effort in the courthouse during the zoning board of appeals meetings. Remember, the zoning board of appeals voted to reject the Walnut Ridge project after hearing that evidence. The solution to the complaints of the citizens of Bureau County near Ohio was to pay them off to silence them in hopes of getting Walnut Ridge approved. During one meeting, we had the opportunity to question the spokesperson for Big Sky. Karen House of Edison Mission Group stated that once the citizen signed the agreement to be paid for their discomfort with the effects of wind turbines, they would never again be able to complain about the problem, even if it was not resolved. We as a group believe that this is the way of the wind industry.

Thus, we have organized as a majority-rules group to undertake this expensive lawsuit. Each member of our group understands our budget and has arranged his or her financial affairs to sustain a long-term commitment to prevail in this effort to protect our health and the use and enjoyment of our homes and property. Others wanted to commit funds to support this effort but were unwilling to be named for fear of retaliation. A sad comment on the aggressive and intimidating style of those participating in wind projects.

Let’s look at the financial side of wind energy. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee indicates wind power is a losing proposition for all Americans: “It makes no sense for the taxpayer to be on the hook for $26 billion over the next 10 years to subsidize a puny amount of unreliable electricity at a time when we’re borrowing 40 cents of every dollar.” Alexander also said, “Our national windmill policy is equivalent of going to war in sailboats.” The subsidies the wind industry is privy to are obscene. The tax breaks alone are enormous, not to mention the five-year accelerated depreciation schedule.

For all of you who think wind is the wave of the future, please take the time to look beyond what the industry is enticing you to believe. A very few people stand to make a lot of money off of us who blindly are led into a world of propaganda and rhetoric.

As of May 2010, with all the wind turbines in operation at that time, wind was only producing 1.3 percent of the electricity in the United States. Perhaps our insights are better if we know what it is we face in our future. The information is out there. Please find out before it is too late.

Ron Amrein

Princeton


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/08/03/before-its-too-late/