February 25, 2016
Letters, Maryland

Wind farm developer shows contempt for us and our laws

Cumberland Times-News | February 25, 2016 | www.times-news.com

When a rich developer can circumvent our local codes, regulations and laws, it renders our local government in Allegany County useless and void of all power.

Dan’s Mountain Wind Force LLC is attempting to use the Maryland Public Service Commission and a “certificate of public convenience and necessity” to circumvent and ignore the decision of our zoning board.

It is showing contempt of our local government and our county codes and laws, intending to do whatever is necessary to erect a wind turbine farm on Dan’s Mountain in order to collect the hefty federal subsidy money for building such a project. Apparently their profits are more important than the people of Allegany County or the rule of law in Allegany County.

Our county codes, regulations and laws were created to protect our environment, our beautiful mountains, and especially the people of our county. The Dan’s Mountain project did not meet the minimal 2,000 foot setback requirement in Code 360-92, and the proposed project required 26 variance requests, totaling 16,747 feet when adding up all the variances necessary.

The project doesn’t fit on Dan’s Mountain without completely ignoring our county code, which our zoning board rightly did not do. The project was turned down.

There is no “necessity” to building a 17-turbine wind farm (each turbine over 500 feet tall counting the blades – that is the size of 17 five-story buildings) on Dan’s Mountain. The people living in Bel Air, Harwood, Cresaptown, Vale Summit and Midland will not find it “a public convenience” once they can’t sell their properties due to being too close to a wind farm.

Wind farms kill wildlife, kill tourism, and lower home values. They also cause medical problems in people when built too close to residential areas.

Minimum distance requirements are 1.5 to 2 miles to avoid the worst of the health issues.

Our county only required 2,000 foot setbacks, and the project couldn’t meet that requirement. There is not enough wind on top of Dan’s Mountain to even lower our electric bills by a fraction.

In fact, Dan’s Mountain wants the farm built for the federal subsidy money, not for the money it will make producing electricity.

Wind farms are shown to not produce much in the way of electricity – which is why the federal government is required to subsidize the industry to make it profitable. Dan’s Mountain Wind Force has already sold the Dan’s Mountain wind farm (not even built yet) to another company.

Finding a way to build the wind farm and ignore our county laws is apparently required, and the Maryland Public Service Commission has given them a way around the law.

Our country was supposed to be formed for “We, the people.” Look around you, people, we are being ruled by rich LLCs and government dictators ignoring the rule of law for ideologies and corporate profits in the form of federal subsidies.

Every time we allow this to happen, we lose our rights, our power and our freedom to govern ourselves.

Dolores Keys

LaVale

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/02/25/wind-farm-developer-shows-contempt-for-us-and-our-laws/