Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Is Wind Power Perfect? … Err, “No!”

The state of Kansas near the top as far as wind power is concerned  in fact Kansas is #7 on the list of states with highest wind speeds, tied with Virginia and Missouri.

The western and central regions of the state are much drier and have less rain than the eastern regions. Some cities are windier than others, but Kansas is, overall, a very windy place! At first glance Kansas would be a good locale for wind turbines, and the consequent generation of cheap wind generated electricity.

Since Kansas is basically flat and very windy, it should be the perfect locale for wind turbines. Land owners get paid big bucks to allow these wind turbines to be erected on their land, but what about their neighbors who are livestock producers and farmers.

Kansas livestock producers are a major outlet for hay, silage and feed grains that are produced within the state’s borders.

Today approximately 90% of the land area of Kansas is devoted to agriculture production. Besides wheat,the most important crops in Kansas are corn, soybeans, grain sorghum (milo) and hay.

Okay, so far, so good unless there is a problem with a turbine, like there recently was in Marshall county.

From the Epoch Times:

For Kansas state Rep. Carrie Barth, the broken turbine in Marshall County and its fiberglass debris scattered across farmland has confirmed one of the many loopholes industrial wind companies have to distance themselves from, namely responsibilities to the residents who live in their shadow.

“We have all of these bureaucracies to deal with health and environment, yet there’s no plan for remediating any problems that arise from these structures,” Barth told The Epoch Times.

The wind turbine, which is a part of the Irish Creek Wind Energy Center (ICWEC), was found broken on April 16.

The break caused fiberglass to shatter and spread onto the property of those who didn’t want the turbine there from the start; however, Barth said it’s now ruined the farmers’ crops. One farmer, she said, can’t bale his hay, and his cows aren’t able to safely graze the grass.

“I have a chunk of the fiberglass that I put in a Ziploc bag, and when I opened it, shards flew out of the top of it, so you can imagine what’s coming off the remaining portion of the dangling blade today compared to one little piece,” Barth said. “If this goes into our food supply, that is a huge concern for me.”

She said the farmer on the adjacent property has found chunks of fiberglass in his grass and won’t be able to use his hay when he bales it.

Ellen and Bob Koch own land a mile and a half away from the property where the turbine fell. Their cattle drink from a stream that converges along their farm from three smaller streams.

“A big rain will wash that fiberglass into the stream and float right down to our place,” Bob told The Epoch Times.

Every time they go along the county road on the property, they find a new piece of fiberglass, Ellen said.

NextEra, the company that built the wind complex, has yet to fix it or provide a thorough cleanup, though a blade remains hanging, which is a safety hazard, Barth said.

“It’s still dangling as we speak,” Barth said, sharing a video of the broken turbine.

According to Barth’s research, there are 4,000 wind turbines in Kansas.

So let’s see if I have this right. If I own a farm in Kansas, and my neighbor’s wind turbine blade comes crashing to the ground, and basically ruins my crops for the year, or perhaps forever, because of fiberglass particles, at present I do not have any recourse.

At present, NextEra itself issued no apology or immediate formal written plan to fix the turbine or offer environmental cleanup.

After speaking to a weeping constituent all Barth could think was, ‘This is wrong.’

6/13/23

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