Champaign County Wind

We need to take action IMMEDIATELY to halt this project. The people of Champaign County are just now becoming aware of Everpower's proposal to change ALL of our lives forever. Let your friends and family know that this is happening without your consent. A project of this size, sited this close to people, is unprecedented. Are you prepared for you and your family to be an experiment? Especially without any meaningful due process, as is the right of every citizen? There are approximately 60 leaseholders (no one can be sure as the wind companies refuse to release the information). There are approximately 38,900 non-leaseholders in the county. Why are a few dozen people dictating the future of all of us without more debate? The only people benefiting from this scheme are a few leaseholders and a multi-national corporation, who has no plans to engage in any profit-sharing from the sale of Champaign County's wind. They specialize in pitting neighbor against neighbor and mak...

A Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin Farmer has regrets about agreeing to host a wind turbine-- Why can't he speak openly about it? When you sign a 20 to 30 year contract to host a wind turbine on your property you may be signing away many rights you're unaware of. A confidentiality agreement in the contract may mean legal action can be taken against you if you complain publicly about the project. A Fond Du Lac farmer signed away his rights. He was interviewed by Don Bangart who wrote the following on behalf of the farmer, whose contract with the wind company prevents him from speaking openly about any problems. This was printed as a full page ad in the Chilton, Wisc., Times-Journal , October 25, 2007. WHAT HAVE I DONE? Now each morning when I awake, I pray and then ask myself, “What have I done?” I am involved with the BlueSky/Greenfield wind turbine project in N.E. Fond du Lac County. I am also a successful farmer who cherishes his land. My father taught me how to farm, to be a stewar...

Safe setbacks: How far should wind turbines be from homes? Let's start with what one manufacturer considers to be safe for its workers. The safety regulations for the Vestas V90, with a 300-ft rotor span and a total height of 410 feet, tell operators and technicians to stay 1,300 feet from an operating turbine -- over 3 times its total height -- unless absolutely necessary. That already is a much greater distance than many regulations currently require as a minimum distance between wind turbines and homes, and it is concerned only with safety, not with noise, shadow flicker, or visual intrusion. In February 2008, a 10-year-old Vestas turbine with a total height of less than 200 feet broke apart in a storm. Large pieces of the blades flew as far as 500 meters (1,640 feet) -- more than 8 times its total height. The Fuhrländer turbine planned for Barrington, R.I., is 328 feet tall with a rotor diameter of 77 meters, or just over 250 feet (sweeping more than an acre of vertical air spa...

This writer wanted to research the effects of the wind industry in the community after wind developers proposed coming to her region of Sardinia, NY. Read on to discover what she learned... Sue Sliwinski of Sardinia, N.Y., writes (Sept. 27, 2005): Over the past nine days and 3,000 miles and seven wind farms, Sandy Swanson and I took many still shots, reams of video, and copious notes and conducted numerous interviews. What's happening is an absolute crime. Every single impact that is denied by developers has been confirmed again and again in wind farm after wind farm. Lovely rural communities are being turned into industrial freak shows. In some places people have just accepted their fate and live with it, not understanding how empowered they actually are by their situations . . . meaning that all they'd have to do is get noisy enough and the developers would stop ignoring them. One told us she's learned how to go outside in her garden and block everything from her mind . ...

Keep in mind these people are living with 20 turbines (not 70 or more) that are located at least 2500 feet away from their homes (not the 1,000 feet proposed in Champaign County).

"Industrial wind turbine noise varies with the atmosphere and terrain. Often one of the quietest places to stand near a turbine is right underneath it. It's a little like standing beneath a 400 foot tall speaker. Turbine noise is broadcast outward and is especially troublesome at night when the air near the ground is still and the air at hub height is in motion. Standing beneath a turbine in the afternoon is the way most people who do not live in wind farms make their judgement about wind turbine noise. They stand there, listen for a minute, take pictures and drive off, go home and tell their friends that wind turbines don't make noise. People who live in wind farms know more about turbine noise than they ever wanted to, and can't just drive off. Next time you want to listen to turbines, try it at nighttime, about 1000 feet to a quarter mile downwind from a turbine to get a better idea about what all the noise about turbine noise is about." - Larry Wuncsh

Check out the interviews with people living with turbines; click on the arrow below.

This article was published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Wind developers have targeted Minnesota and residents there are discovering what it is like to live with giant turbines. Living with wind energy: Like a twilight zone By KATIE V. TROE The Star Tribune Industrial wind turbines, utility-scale turbines—whatever you call them, they are popping up all over the state. Minnesota is requiring utility companies to be using 25 percent renewable energy by 2025. When I ask most people what they know about turbines, most reply, “They are green energy!” When I probe for more information, they know nothing more. I’d like you to join me on a short journey to see what it is like to live near a wind project. From about 15 miles away, we’ll be able to spot the turbines on the horizon. They’ll appear small, but as we drive closer, they’ll grow. Once we are nearer, you might say something like, “These things are enormous!” or “I feel like I am in the twilight zone.” Most turbines, counting their ...

The following information is from www.windaction.org Dr. Michael A. Nissenbaum, a radiologist at the Northern Maine Medical Center, conducted interviews with fifteen people living near the wind energy facility in Mars Hill, Maine. His preliminary data suggests the residents are experiencing medical problems (sleep disturbances, headaches, dizziness, weight changes, possible increases in blood pressure, as well as increased prescription medication use) due to noise emissions from the turbines near their homes. Dr. Nissenbaum presented his preliminary findings before the Maine Medical Association Public Health Committee on March 25, 2009. The full presentation can be downloaded by clicking on the link below. Brief professional bio for Dr. Nissenbaum: Education: Medical School: University of Toronto Diagnostic Imaging Residency: McGill University Fellowship Training: University of California Current position: Radiologist, Northern Maine Medical Center, Fort Kent, Maine Previous position: ...

If the wind project is installed, homes here in Champaign County will be located at the 914-foot setback line from the turbines, which is closer than the homes depicted in this video. Click on the arrow to see a short video about living with turbines from a resident in Wisconsin.