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Adams Twp. won’t change ordinance for wind farm 

Credit:  By DAN ROBLEE | The Daily Mining Gazette | April 14, 2015 | www.mininggazette.com ~~

BALTIC – In a move aimed at blocking development of a wind farm on and around Whealkate Bluff, the Adams Township Board of Trustees voted Monday not to amend a wind farm ordinance to allow turbines closer to homes than originally intended. The move came at the end of a packed public meeting in which well over 100 township residents made it vocally clear most would prefer not to see the wind turbines on their skyline.

“The ordinance will stay the same, the way it is,” said Township Supervisor Gerald Heikkinen. “I think renewable energy is our future, in Adams or out. But as for now, no wind farm in Adams Township.”

The township’s ordinance, adopted last year, says wind turbines must be situated at least 3,000 feet from any adjacent property lines, roads or homes. Dave Hokens, co-owner of Farm Wind Energy, had told the township that setback would make his company’s proposed six- to 10-turbine project unfeasible, and had asked the township to amend the setbacks so that turbines could be as close as 500 feet from property lines and 1,500 feet from homes.

Township residents applauded the vote at the end of the meeting, after expressing numerous concerns and citing a variety of potential health and economic issues that have been noted in other communities.

This may not be the end for Farm Wind Energy’s project, however. Hokens was not at the meeting, but has said in the past he would consider a lawsuit to force the township to change the ordinance.

“We were threatened with litigation,” confirmed Heikkinen.

Farm Wind consultants Dave Drapac and Eric Udelhofen, who represented the company at the meeting, said they didn’t know anything about the likelihood of a suit.

Despite what Heikkinen said was a May 1 deadline Hokens gave for changing the ordinance, he noted that Farm Wind was not ready to move forward yet on several other fronts, and litigation was hopefully an idle threat.

“They have no business plan, no lease agreements,” he said. “It’s settled unless we get a letter from an attorney.”

Udelhofen said that the biggest issue facing the company was finding a buyer for their electricity. He said Farm Wind has been in negotiations with Upper Peninsula Power Company, but because of the cost of electrical transmission, there were only a few other buyers who would consider purchasing the electricity.

“The first thing I think we need to know, is there really somebody going to buy it?” asked one resident. “If there is, we should tell them not to buy it.”

After hearing that the wind farm was projected to create enough power for about 5,000 homes, one audience member asked whether the power would be used locally and whether local rates would go down. They would not, he was told.

One major topic of discussion was how much the township would benefit from tax revenue created by the wind farm. Udelhofen said the company estimated it would pay about $250,000 per year. Heikkinen said his number crunchers had come up with different figures, and that with the township receiving only 1.3 percent of overall millage revenues, he expected it to receive only about $700 annually.

There was also a concern, he said, that adding the wind farm to the tax base could affect how much the township receives in state revenue sharing, currently more than $130,000.

A representative of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also spoke about the danger wind turbines could pose to bats and birds. He said the northern long-eared bat, which was recently added to the threatened species list, could be affected, as could the little brown bat, in danger of being added to that list.

With the proposed project close to mines where bats hibernate, he said there could be some permitting challenges for the wind farm, but not that they were unlikely to stop construction.

For many neighboring residents, potential property value losses and health concerns were the biggest issues. David Kamm cited research saying low-frequency noise could cause long-term health issues.

“They can cause nausea, alertness or inability to sleep,” he said.

Township Treasurer Nancy Immonen said she felt the board’s vote reflected the will of the township residents.

“They were here for the vote, and they got it,” she said. “I was real pleased with the turnout.”

Source:  By DAN ROBLEE | The Daily Mining Gazette | April 14, 2015 | www.mininggazette.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

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