| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Amazon indifferent to neighbors’ property rights
Credit: The Columbus Dispatch | May 22, 2016 | www.dispatch.com ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
I respond to the Thursday Dispatch article “Amazon: Ease limits on wind farms” about Amazon’s testimony on rules for locating industrial wind turbines in Ohio. The company sent a representative to the Statehouse for a hearing on a bill that would encourage development of wind farms in northwestern Ohio by reversing some recent rule changes.
The article is misleading in the sense it did not cover the questioning posed to Amazon’s spokesperson, John Stephenson. Given that there are benefits associated with Amazon’s fulfillment centers and data storage facilities, and given that there are known detriments to a community hosting turbines, Stephenson was asked if Amazon would balance the benefits and the detriments by locating its facilities in the proposed wind corridor. The answer was no.
Stephenson testified that Amazon would not get involved in the placement of the turbines. The follow-up question was whether the company is willing to at least have standards that would limit the purchase of wind only from facilities with protective setbacks. Again, the answer was no.
Siting is not something Amazon cares about. The rules being proposed by the wind industry do not provide for compensating a neighboring property owner when the adverse effects of noise and moving shadows diminish the neighbor’s amenity. Wind developers and their “green” adherents are indifferent to the property rights of northwest Ohioans.
Testimony indicated that to respect property rights would be “cost prohibitive.” It appears the population density of Ohio makes it an unsuitable state for wind development.
Julie Johnson
Urbana
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.
| Wind Watch relies entirely on User Contributions |
 (via Stripe) |
 (via Paypal) |
Share:
[ Short URL: https://wind-watch.org/news/?p=77615 ]
