February 12, 2019
Texas

Crop duster pilots concerned with wind farm safety issues

By: Frank McCaffrey | KRGV | February 10, 2019 | www.krgv.com

WESLACO – Local agricultural aircraft pilots are concerned wind farms and towers are causing trouble.

Blayne Rowland owns a crop dusting business that conducts most work in Willacy County.

He says windmills have brought fears that he or one of his pilots will fly into one.

“It adds an element of danger we didn’t have before. We’ve got 450-foot windmills that we have to navigate around and make sure we don’t hit,” says Rowland.

Rowland wants to know who he can talk to and add his input.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS reached out to Duke Energy, one of the companies that owns a wind farm near Rowland’s business.

A spokesperson for Duke Energy, Neil Nissan, says safety around the wind turbines in question are a top priority.

“Local O&M workers there would be happy to meet with any local landowners or crop dusting associations,” says Nissan.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/02/12/crop-duster-pilots-concerned-with-wind-farm-safety-issues/