The Legal Woes of Wind
Well, it
didn’t take long for potential trouble to arise over the proposed wind farm
near where I live. No sooner did the county board OK the project, than the
threat of the lawsuit arose concerning the process by which it was approved.
This project has been quite a study about something that seems so environmentally correct.
It’s hard to keep track of the furor surrounding it. First, it was concern about the clacking noise as the turbines turn, then the glare off the blades as the sun rises or sets, then the danger of the migratory birds hitting the blades and their carcasses being eaten by predators bringing an influx of them.
Even past the latest potential legal problems, there is now concern about what happens should the developers of the project pass along operation to someone else. And there was a question about who is responsible for decommissioning the equipment should that need to be done somewhere down the road.
The project is moving ahead because it portends jobs in the construction sector and a source of income for farmers who rent out or sell their land for the structures.
Wind turbines were pretty much off my radar screen until a report at the FMI Energy Conference in September talked about wind power for supermarket refrigeration. I wondered if that was possible. Now with all the controversy going on near which I live, I’m wondering if any wind turbines will go up around here, regardless of its ability to keep food frozen.
This project has been quite a study about something that seems so environmentally correct.
It’s hard to keep track of the furor surrounding it. First, it was concern about the clacking noise as the turbines turn, then the glare off the blades as the sun rises or sets, then the danger of the migratory birds hitting the blades and their carcasses being eaten by predators bringing an influx of them.
Even past the latest potential legal problems, there is now concern about what happens should the developers of the project pass along operation to someone else. And there was a question about who is responsible for decommissioning the equipment should that need to be done somewhere down the road.
The project is moving ahead because it portends jobs in the construction sector and a source of income for farmers who rent out or sell their land for the structures.
Wind turbines were pretty much off my radar screen until a report at the FMI Energy Conference in September talked about wind power for supermarket refrigeration. I wondered if that was possible. Now with all the controversy going on near which I live, I’m wondering if any wind turbines will go up around here, regardless of its ability to keep food frozen.