not in my backyard and other issues

A Yale360 interview with Jim Gordon of Cape Wind.

snip:

Jim Gordon’s initial accomplishment in proposing a wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod was unintended: He managed to unite Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate, with William Koch, the conservative petroleum and coal magnate and GOP fundraiser. Both opposed Cape Wind, the plan to put 130 giant wind turbines six miles off land in Nantucket Sound.

Ten years later, Gordon is on the verge of starting construction on the nation’s first offshore wind farm. His plans have survived a regulatory gauntlet that included reviews by 17 government agencies, court challenges, and bitter public squabbles with opponents — funded in large part by Koch.

But just as he is poised to plant the first turbine, with blades reaching 440 feet above the water, the renewable energy industry has been shaken. The U.S. Congress has not renewed the chief tax incentive that has fueled development of wind power, and natural gas prices have plummeted, undercutting renewable prices.

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Comments

[Roger]

The heart of Illinois is a perfect place for wind turbines. A wide, flat prairie covering thousands of square miles stretches north-south through much of the state. Many thousands of wind turbines have been installed and more are going up daily. Illinoisans love their wind turbines. Well, most of them anyway.

Now it appears that wind turbine noise within bedrooms may not have equal impact on all ears. "Landowners who benefit financially from wind farms on their properties sleep better than those who get no monetary compensation, a public health doctor says."

And while most of us marvel at the beauty of those little big Whirlygigs going round and round, not everyone shares our enthusiasm.

-Snip-

“Horizon keeps saying the construction of the wind turbines will not change the use of the agricultural land – that farmers will still be able to farm the land, but you all seem to forget that there are residential properties, as well,” said Fogler. “It almost seems like we are insignificant.”

Meanwhile, at the Pekin zoning board of appeals hearing, some Tazewell County residents were equally disgruntled with that board’s decision.

“Obviously, we’re not happy with it,” said Delavan resident Beverly Egli, whose home will be surrounded by wind towers in the Rail Splitter Wind Farm.

The board deliberated for three hours before unanimously approving special use permits for the project that will cover more than 11,000 acres of farmland straddling Tazewell and Logan counties just east of Interstate 155.

“We’re ready to sell our house and I don’t think we’ll be able to sell our house,” said her husband, Rod Egli.

The towers each will be 389 feet tall, and 38 of the 67 towers will be in Tazewell County.

Opponents have said the towers will decrease property values, create hazards for crop dusters and ruin the landscape.

“There aren’t enough words,” Delavan resident Christy Parr said of her disappointment after the final vote. “It’s such a bigger deal than anybody in this county understands.”