Wind turbine setbacks important for safety
July 21, 2014 | www.limaohio.com
The July 12 front page story was outstanding at making potential area wind projects look like victims. But, before you sympathize with them, you must know that there is another side to this story.
House Bill 483 has increased the setback that a turbine must be from a property line to 1,125 feet. There is nothing to prohibit these companies from asking neighbors to sign a waiver and, therefore, still plant the turbine where it was originally planned. In fact, rumor abounds this is actually occurring at one of these proposed sites.
Worldwide, people complain and protest against low frequency vibrations produced by the machines, noise at night, fires and ice throws. Setbacks are essential to protect people and neighboring property and the wind industry has been given a free pass in Ohio, until now.
If our setback is now so unreasonable, how does it compare to other places? You may be surprised to know that our setback is actually SMALLER than and AT LEAST 39 other counties and states and significantly shorter than many countries. Why? Because as people become familiar with the machines, they have often asked for increased setbacks to prevent problems that they know neighboring areas have with them.
For specific examples, search the Web for “Master Resource wind ordinance debate.”
Thank you Gov. John Kasich, for protecting our people from these foreign companies!
— Dawn Davis, Spencerville
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/07/21/wind-turbine-setbacks-important-for-safety/