March 4, 2018
Letters, Ohio

Wind energy overblown

Letter: Wind energy overblown | The Lima News | March 3, 2018 | www.limaohio.com

The Feb. 24 editorial by The Lima News ignores basic problems with wind energy. Most proponents of wind energy do not answer these questions:

• What happens when the wind doesn’t blow? Wind cannot provide 100 percent of our electricity; our electrical companies would have to stay online to keep the grid running; no reduction in the use of fossil fuels.

• Is it long term? Many independent engineers state the life of these turbines is much shorter than projected by wind companies. They are expensive to fix. The Akron-Westfield Community School District, which owns a non-working turbine, cannot afford to fix it. Other sources state that after 15 years productivity drops by 55 percent. If wind fields lose their viability who takes over the cost of school funding?

• Is it green? Turbines require immense amounts of natural resources in construction. Tons of steel, requiring fossil fuels in their manufacturing, tons of concrete and rebar, again using fossil fuels, rare earth elements, oil, not to mention the precious agricultural land forever taken out of production!

• Is it safe? Ohio’s rural areas are highly populated; wind turbines fail with blade shear and fire. Health is also a consideration with noise levels, flicker and low-frequency sounds. By OSHA standards the safety of those living near high-power transmission lines is in jeopardy; people are working and living too close.

• Who benefits? Only a few landowners benefit from having turbines on their property. Many are absentee landowners who would not be affected by the issues of health, safety, loss of property values, even encroachment on our property if setbacks are lessened. Unfair by anyone’s measure!

Jeannine Roediger, Van Wert

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/03/04/wind-energy-overblown/