November 8, 2011
Letters, Washington

Questions regarding wind farms in Kittitas County

Daily Record, www.dailyrecordnews.com 8 November 2011

When a job moved us to Washington state, we started doing research on the area and decided to buy a home in Ellensburg.  We really liked the small town and beautiful valley, so two years ago we purchased our property north of town.  Neither the home owner nor the Realtor mentioned to us that we would soon be surrounded by windmills and I can’t blame them.  We always wondered why such a well-built house on 20 acres was comparable in price to less desirable homes with only a few acres – now we know – the home owner wanted out. 

Now that I am a resident of Kittitas County, I have followed and have voiced my opinion regarding the new Columbia Plateau proposal. I am pleased with the county’s decision, but after speaking with neighbors I found out that the Kittitas Valley and Desert Claim wind farms were contested and voted down by the county just as Columbia Plateau. So here are my questions:

n If so many acres in this area were already available (now approved wind-power overlay) for wind farms, why were Kittitas Valley and Desert Claim Wind Farms approved front and center of the most glorious view in the valley? 

n Was the Columbia Plateau more fiercely opposed than Kittitas Valley or Desert Claim? 

n Will Olympia again disregard the resounding voice of those that live in this valley? 

We plan to retire here, but if the liberals on the West Side continue to run this valley, we might choose to live somewhere where the residents have more of a voice on what happens where they live.  Then again, we may not have that choice because who wants to buy property surrounded by windmills?

Oh, and by the way, according to Interesting United States Weather Facts and Extremes, Washington state does not include even one of the top 10 windiest cities – don’t tell me this all isn’t very political.

Diane Kellerman

Ellensburg


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/11/08/questions-regarding-wind-farms-in-kittitas-county/