September 3, 2012
Letters, Wisconsin

Most residents are opposed to wind farm

New Richmond News | www.newrichmond-news.com 1 September 2012

Several items of interest in a recent letter addressed to “Dear readers.” There were allegations of misrepresentation or false statements in a previous letter to the editor.

The Town of Forest as well as all residents are within the footprint of the proposed wind turbine project per documentation from the Public Service Commission.

The suggestions of employment in the area sounds quite favorable. Emerging Energies has said there will be at least a hundred workers in the area during construction. If past practices are followed as in other areas, these individuals are highly specialized and not many if any local folks will be on the payroll.

Emerging Energies also said the maintenance on the operational turbines will be contracted from the vendor, because they are familiar with the product and will be the most cost effective in the long run.

The income to the township and the county sounds like a good idea. My question would be, where is this money coming from?

The issue about intervener compensation referenced in the aforementioned letter. The original letter said there would not be any intervener compensation for expert witnesses. The $20,000 was to be used only for lawyer fees. A pro wind group was awarded more than $40,000 for their expert witness. It would seem that the playing field is not very fair.

It is alleged that many dozens of residents are in favor of the proposed project. Ironically the majority of the townships residents do not agree. Many homeowners in our township are extremely concerned that this project will in fact have a detrimental effect on our health, our property values and our environment.

As a side note: While studying the proposed locations for the turbine placement (per the PSC documents), it appears as though the wind energy must be better nearer to non-host families primary dwellings.

Laverne Hoitomt

Town of Forest

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/09/03/most-residents-are-opposed-to-wind-farm/