Beware before signing wind turbine easement

Posted 12/19/19

Editor:

This is a cautionary note…

When big industrial wind developers come “prospecting” (that’s what they call it) you will not even be aware they are in your county. …

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Beware before signing wind turbine easement

Posted

Editor:

This is a cautionary note…

When big industrial wind developers come “prospecting” (that’s what they call it) you will not even be aware they are in your county. They operate with stealth.

They look for counties with no zoning – a smaller population and little money to fight back. They approach the supervisors first, with tales of millions in tax dollars – local acceptance and money for all.

They put up towers to measure the wind. Often, they sign up one or more local officials and their families for easements in return for generous sums of money. Then they start looking for unsuspecting people to sign easements.

Out-of-state and absentee landowners and the elderly are ripe for the picking. Eventually they resort to telling those reluctant to sign easements that all of their neighbors have signed easements (even if they haven’t) and that they may as well sign up.

They are going to be surrounded by industrial wind turbines anyway. So why not get some money out of the deal? It’s all rainbows and unicorns for those who want it.

But smart landowners who read the fine print – do research and look at counties with industrial wind turbines (especially at night) will never sign over their land. They learn that they are signing away their entire farm under an easement that can last for up to 40 years.

They give up their right to a jury trial. They cannot cancel their easements for any reason – but the wind companies can cancel the easements at any time for any reason.

The easement to their farm can be sold and traded many times without their consent. Broken tiles don’t always get properly repaired.

Industrial wind turbines are put where they benefit the big wind companies – not where the farmers want them. Soil compaction – tons of cement pumped into the ground and hundreds of tons of rock for service roads that diagonally sever prime farm ground – destroy that ground permanently.

They agree to accept stray voltage, shadow flicker and noise so loud it keeps them from sleeping. Crop dusters will refuse to fly close to a wind farm – limiting options for pest control.

Industrial wind turbines can cause signal interference – negatively affecting critical and life-saving doppler radar – TV and weather radio signals.

Neighbors learn that their land will be devalued. Soon arguments break out and relatives – neighbors and longtime friends are avoiding each other.

Big industrial wind farms tear the very fabric of a community apart. This is happening over and over again throughout the United States.

It takes an incredible amount of taxpayer money to make wind energy “look” affordable. Over 176 billion taxpayer dollars so far.

Warren Buffet has been quoted as saying, ““I will do anything that is basically covered by the law to reduce Berkshire’s tax rate. For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That’s the only reason to build them. They don’t make sense without the tax credit.”

MidAmerican Energy is owned by Berkshire.

Please beware – do your research and talk to and attorney before signing anything.

Denise Leubka

Williamsburg