Is ruining Peru worth the money?
The Berkshire Eagle | 03/20/2014 | www.berkshireeagle.com
I have always believed that money obtained at the expense of others is unjust. Corporate money has placed Peru’s quaint rural living in grave jeopardy, with proposed industrial wind turbines. The forefathers of this town knew the treasure that Peru is, and kept it as a non-industrial town. No one imagined an industrial project when Peru’s wind energy bylaws were passed nearly 10 years ago.
As documented in this newspaper, property owners on Curtin Road stand to potentially benefit from this project financially. One wonders if money is more important than scenic views and the well-being of their neighbors, or if perhaps they were not fully informed when they signed the lease with the project’s developer Lightship Energy LLC. Now town officials are facing an application for a special permit, with additional special exceptions, for this developer. Yet, the golden carrot – money being offered to the town – is not guaranteed, and it is in lieu of taxes. No one has done an analysis of the net value to the town. Is it worth it? It will be at the expense and well-being of residents living within a couple of miles of the proposed project.
We have worked hard and invested our savings into our most precious financial asset, our homes. We are not looking to make any money from this project, but conversely we do not want the value of our properties significantly impacted as studies have shown that wind turbines have a detrimental effect on property values – some are even unsellable. Townspeople have asked Lightship Energy about offering each resident in town a residential property value guarantee. This guarantee would ensure that property owners situated within a few miles of the wind turbines would not take a loss upon the sale of their property in the future.
So far nobody has heard back from Lightship Energy on this issue or numerous other questions presented to the developer months ago. If there are no issues or problems with wind turbines, then why isn’t Lightship Energy jumping to offer a written residential property value guarantee?
When there is a significant amount of money to be made at the expense of others you know that the devil has entered the details. If you love this town and care about your neighbors then pray that God will protect the town that He created.
KIMBERLY KAMINSKI
Peru
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/03/20/is-ruining-peru-worth-the-money/