Will it carry only wind energy?
St. Joseph News-Press | July 2, 2014 | www.newspressnow.com
Finally the “facts” as stated by the salaried Mark Lawlor of Clean Line Energy have been relegated to the opinion page of the St. Joseph News-Press. Previously Lawlor was often quoted in news articles, thereby allowing his statements to seem more factual than those of his landowner opponents.
This is progress but not enough. We are landowners whose century-old family farm is in the path of this transmission line – a line purported to be taller, larger and more powerful than anything that currently exists in the U.S. Accurate and informative reporting is the basis of our trust in a news source and shouldn’t be dictated or influenced by the advertising budget of a corporation or entity.
As those opposed to Grain Belt Express (GBE aka Clean Line) have rightly pointed out, nothing stated as fact by paid employees of GBE is legally binding; it’s all hype and promise. Here’s one point made by Block Grain Belt Express (the landowner advocacy group fighting the installation of this power line) that we’d like to better understand; Lawlor implies that this transmission line will bring only wind energy to Missouri, hence the “Clean Line” moniker. Yet doesn’t federal law require this transmission line, once built, to carry any and all other forms of energy including the “dirtier” energy produced by coal-fired power plants?
As one of the first in Holt County to put a solar installation on our home, we care about energy issues. And we want to be informed by our newspaper. We challenge the News-Press to investigate various “facts” and allegations – by both sides.
Ron and Cynthia Pederson
residents of rural Mound City, Mo.,
landowners in Doniphan County, Kan.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/07/03/will-it-carry-only-wind-energy/