County commissioners say no to wind farms

Editor:
Finally, wind farms are being turned down for reasons brought forward by those fighting the industry. Noise, loss of property value and loss of enjoyment of  property.
The court also acknowledged the efforts of members from the organization Save Our Scenic Hill Country who were on hand for the decision.
It’s refreshing to see the efforts of those working so hard to educate the public about the downside of Industrial Wind Farms being recognized. Most of the people fighting wind farms are “Greener ” than those promoting  their use.
We need to keep the pressure on and get other Govt. bodies to accept the findings of this and other similar decisions. Never forget. You elected these people to serve the people, not big business. What can they say at this point? They can’t plead ignorance any longer. The only defense they might have is that they are truly stupid. Stupid people should step aside. They have no right to be making decisions for you or anyone else.

County commissioners say no to wind farms

Applause filled the Gillespie County Commissioners’ Courtroom Thursday after commissioners passed a resolution opposing wind farms in Gillespie County.

Signed by Gillespie County Judge Mark Stroeher and all four commissioners, the document states the court’s opposition to “the construction and installation of industrial wind farms in Gillespie County and the surrounding Hill Country area.”

Stroeher said that the Llano City Council had recently passed a similar resolution to the one approved during the meeting, which had been moved up from its originally scheduled date on Christmas Eve.

The court’s action comes soon after a similar resolution of principle was adopted by the Fredericksburg City Council at their Dec. 3 meeting and the recent announcement by NRG Energy that they were no longer considering a wind turbine site in Gillespie County.

Commissioner Donnie Schuch said the decision must “consider private property rights of everyone” and take into account what was “best for the total, not for the few.”

A highlight of the resolution, read in open court by Stroeher, was the commissioners’ concern of the “negative impact” economically that the county would see if turbines were constructed in the area.

The document notes the belief of appraisers and realtors “that land values in the area in which industrial wind farms are situated will be substantially decreased.”

The two-page resolution also cites an Electric Reliability Council of Texas report that the area is ranked 20th out of 25 potential wind areas in the state.

In their findings, however, the commissioners did acknowledge “that potential income to participating property owners who sign options for leases for wind turbines to be located on their property could be beneficial to those landowners.”

Other concerns raised in the resolution include wind turbine construction negatively altering views from Enchanted Rock State Natural Area as well as wildlife and environmental impacts that the construction of wind farms would bring to the region.

The court also acknowledged the efforts of members from the organization Save Our Scenic Hill Country who were on hand for the decision.

“We do appreciate what you all are doing out there,” Stroeher said, emphasizing the group’s efforts to educate members of the community about the issue.

Calculating The Real Cost of Industrial Wind Power

Friends of Arran Lake Wind Action Group Bruce County, Ontario

AN INFORMATION UPDATE FOR ONTARIO ELECTRICITY CONSUMERS

Compiled by
Keith Stelling, MA (McMaster), MNIMH, Dip. Phyt., MCPP (England)
November, 2007

INTRODUCTION

1.0 The history of human technological innovation is littered with projects that have had to be abandoned because they were based on a narrow theoretical view that failed to take into account the whole picture. The commercial exploitation of wind energy is fast showing signs of such failure.

The last ten years in Europe has provided ample opportunity to evaluate the real costs and claimed benefits of industrial wind turbines based on actual operating statistics.

· Studies by public electricity distributors now challenge the very assumption upon which the ecological value of commercial wind power is based: that it reduces carbon emissions.

· Energy experts report that industrial wind power is proving to be exceptionally expensive to consumers once required backup and additional infrastructure are factored in. The high cost is caused by
(a) the need to maintain backup generating reserve to cover times when the wind does not blow.
(b) The need to stabilize the grid when wind produces power that is not needed by current demand.
(c) Government subsidization and tax benefits for the wind industry.

· New studies show that the perceived benign environmental footprint of the industrial wind turbine does not correspond with the latest field studies of effects are being provoked by wind turbine installations.

In the United States, Senator Lamar Alexander put it bluntly when introducing his Envirnonmentally Responsible Wind Power Act of 2005:

“My studies suggest that at a time when America needs large amounts of low-cost reliable power, wind produces puny amounts of high-cost unreliable power. We need lower prices; wind power raises prices.”

In Ontario, – Tom Adams, formerly of Energy Probe, wrote in the National Post on 20 November, 2007:

“Without radical technological advances, wind power will only burden Ontario consumers.”

Read the full pdf report