Wind turbines remain hot topic locally

Editor:

Wind power, the burning question in our little corner of the world. Wind turbines are big and ugly, but so are high-voltage transmission lines, silos, manure lagoons, skyscrapers, industrial-size milking parlors and billboards, just to name a few. We got used to seeing them.

The argument, “not in my back yard,” begs the answer in whose back yard should we build them? Not every place is suited for wind turbines. Wrong climate patterns, wrong geography, poor political climate all make some places unsuitable for wind farms.

Push back, if strong enough, will force the developers down the road to more favorable locations. They will take potential jobs, income, and tax revenue with them.

The locals will lose out with possibly lower taxes, higher land values with lower tax rates. Lower electric rates, maybe not because the developer sells electricity to the power authority which then sells it back to local utilities that set the rates.

This has become a political football. Follow the money, who benefits the most from the turbine debate? Is the developer helping politicians? It’s hard to be critical of someone who gives you money.

Paul Tiffany

Yates