By: Diane Benjamin
Yesterday the McLean County Board passed a new Wind Farm ordinance that benefits developers over people.
Livingston County had a referendum on their last ballot asking whether a 1600 feet setback was enough, the voters there said NO.
McLean’s ordinance is a measly 1500 feet from any occupied home – not the property line. This allows turbine developers to “trespass” on the property up to your house. Have barns? Farm animals? Kids playing in the backyard? The County decided they don’t need any protection from the turbines.
The turbines east of Bloomington-Normal were idle all day yesterday. Surprisingly, wind is necessary for them to operate. There wasn’t any.
Wind isn’t a reliable source of electricity. Supporters always forget a fossil fuel backup system is needed and it operates very inefficiently because of the need to power up and down depending on the wind. Turbines have always been about subsidies, not clean energy. Would they exist without massive amounts of tax money? Not a chance!
What the McLean County Board passed will encourage more construction here. The latest models are MUCH bigger than the midget turbines we currently see. Livingston County is safe from the assault on their farmland, its open season here now. Watterson Towers is 298.5 feet tall. The County ordinance allows 550 feet. This is almost twice the height of the turbines east of town.
During the hearings Invenergy testified that turbines do not cause any health problems and do not decrease property values. I’m not relying on the County to keep that testimony on the website forever. I will have the actual audio files soon. I predict lawsuits will happen, I will have Invenergy’s claims in their own words for anyone forced to sue them.
Board member Jim Soeldner is quoted in the bird-cage liner extolling the increased assessed values where turbines are built. Yep, it’s all about money. It was all about money when he voted for the Feds to do a $10 million study for the east-side bypass too. I remember him telling me it was “free” money.
Yes, the clueless exist.
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I wonder how BLN News would have reacted to Tommy Edison and Hank Ford’s impact on humanity.
Since the internet had not yet been invented, it would have been impossible for BLNNews to react being that BLNnews is a blog site.
if you would reread my comment you would recognize how it was stated and that it already took that fact into consideration. I don’t like to have to explain my comment but in your case an exception is in order?
That is an amazingly bad deal for anyone who’s neighbors decide to host one of those towers. THey are very noisy and very disturbing to be around.
Oh I suppose it would be like a farmer selling a couple some small parcel to build a house on and then that same couple demand that they shut down a livestock operation. Sometimes you have to remember why you moved into farmland and not town. If you live in the country, you are going to see country things.
I was here first! They destroyed my quality of life!
Well okay, I was here before you or your Husband. Really it is not about who is first so much as the freedom to make a living and to help as many as we can. Has your property been approached to get one erected? If so why did you not go for it?
We don’t farm, we have two acres and the house is in the middle of it. Of course we weren’t approached. My brother-in-laws that do farm refused turbines. They are intelligent enough to know they are a scam.
Well now you have seen an example of American Freedoms. We all do not agree on everything, but we can express our own opinions. I also do not necessarily like the towers ether, but in the long run of things, they are helping to impact our electrical power rates and do provide some tax relief to taxing bodies. And before we go on, I do respect your opinions and your right to express them, but I sometimes do not agree.
Electricity generated by wind is MORE expensive! Yep, that’s impact.