October 22, 2013
Alabama

Cherokee residents file suit to block wind farm

By John Davidson, Times Staff Writer | The Gadsden Times | October 21, 2013 | www.gadsdentimes.com

Cherokee County residents have filed a lawsuit to block the proposed wind farm on Lookout Mountain, according to official court documents.

The suit was filed at 7:57 a.m. Monday. This is the second suit filed against the developers, Pioneer Green Energy. Etowah County property owners who live near the proposed sites filed a similar lawsuit Aug. 1.

The suit seeks a permanent injunction that will prevent Pioneer Green from building wind turbines. The property owners who will lease their land to Pioneer Green to build the turbines also are named in the suit. Nearby residents have complained the turbines will be an eyesore and a nuisance.

The plaintiffs claim the turbines are being built to take advantage of government incentives that will only benefit Pioneer Green and that they will produce very little electricity. The plaintiffs said they will be hurt by the turbines’ construction because of shadow flicker, low-frequency noise, lost or diminishing property values and damage to the natural landscape.

“The addition of noise, light and visual pollution is unacceptable, and the harm to the neighborhoods’ rural character far outweighs the unreliable payoffs to individuals,” the suit said.

The suit said the plaintiffs cannot be fully compensated in damages and are without an adequate remedy at law because the exact amount of damages will be hard to determine and likely cannot be fixed.

When contacted by The Times, Pioneer Green Development Manager Patrick Buckley said this was the first he had heard of the suit and he could not comment.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/10/22/cherokee-residents-file-suit-to-block-wind-farm/