March 24, 2021
Kansas

Some rural Kansans supporting Senate bill that would set standards for wind industry

By Kimberly Donahue | WIBW | Published: Mar. 23, 2021 | www.wibw.com

Frankfort resident Gayla Randel said Tuesday she feels there is a disconnect between the wind industry and the people living in the areas of their proposed wind farms.

“I personally feel that they don’t totally understand what it means to be rural and especially in Kansas where am 75% of the communities have less than 1,500 people at work we are a sense of family,” she said.

Randel claims some neighbors have had up to nine wind turbines within a mile of their home.

Disruptions like these led Randel and residents in towns like hers to support Senate Bill 279 which sets standards for developers when setting up wind farms.

It focuses on criteria like a farm’s distance from a home and noise levels.

“What this bill will do will ensure that the individuals in the state of Kansas actually have their property and their health protected,” she said.

Proponents of the bill, like Randel, believe the bill keeps the welfare of residents in mind.

“The property line is set in this bill, where the distance needs to be measured from this,” she said.

“It also negates some issues related to noise and infrasound because the setbacks, it’ll take that into account, both the direct and indirect issues that we’ve known of wind farms and turbines cause.”

Randel said she is not against wind and renewable energy she just wants it to be fair to communities.

“Senate Bill 279 has what I think is common sense regulation thinking about it from the rural citizen,” she said.

“All this is doing is protecting the citizens that are non-participants to make sure that their property rights aren’t abused by winD developers by counting them in the distances.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/03/24/some-rural-kansans-supporting-senate-bill-that-would-set-standards-for-wind-industry/