The Question is …

To allow, or not to allow wind turbines in the area is a controversial question many Henry County residents are pondering. There are plenty of pros and cons supporting both sides of the issue making it difficult to know which side to support.

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There is no way to compromise, whether you are for or against having a wind turbine on or near your property. If you are against having a wind turbine, or having one near you there is little a landowner can do if the farmer next door decides to have one put next to your property.

Personally, I am not in favor of allowing these giant metal monsters to dot our peaceful and pretty countryside. I fear that once they outlive their usefulness, they will remain an eyesore of outdated technology. With technology constantly improving ways to deliver less expensive and more efficient ways to improve our environment, what if a less expensive, more efficient, and less invasive way to harness wind power is discovered? Will wind turbines go the way of farm windmills and Harvest Stores?

Curious to see what others think about this wind turbine turmoil, I posted the question on Facebook and got mixed reviews from near and as far away is Manitoba, Canada. Art Sager, who lives in Washington State said he lives across the river from a field of wind turbines.

“They are ugly, and I understand they kill a lot of birds, but they pay good rent to the landowners,” he said.

“Hold out for royalties like those paid by the oil industry,” Hart Parr commented.

Sara Klopfenstein Tuchen, originally from Winfield said she has concerns about the lights, sounds and pollution.

“How much noise do they create and how much light do they need to use at night?” she asked. “Living in the city I’ve become aware how disturbing they are. I would also ask questions about road maintenance. Those are some big trucks. The county is not going to want to shoulder cost of maintaining the roads.”

Both Samantha Price and Marilyn Harms were among many who voiced concern about the disposal of used turbines and blades.

“It is my understanding that they only last about 10 yrs.,” said Harms.

Mark Schneider, owner/operator of a grain farm in Iowa shared some observations he believes farmers should consider before allowing wind turbines on their farms. The following information was gleaned from an article Schneider posted on Facebook. Wind turbines create an obstacle a farmer must farm around.

“They only take up a small footprint,” some people say.

Schneider responded with this example, “Imagine someone putting a telephone pole in the middle of your driveway. It doesn’t take much space, you can drive around it, but what if someone hits it, or when it snows, and you must plow around it?”

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Schneider reminds prospective owners to remember that each tower has its own access road that runs from the turbine to the closet public road and cautions people that wind turbine companies rarely listen to farmers on the best way to lay out the road and will often cut across planned rows or turn at a diagonal creating obstacles to farm around.

They can create a problem when it comes to spraying fields. Few, if any, spray pilots will attempt to spray a field dotted with wind turbines both for the sake of safety and efficiency. To be effective the spray must be applied at such a low altitude it would put both pilot and plane in jeopardy. Schneider said maneuvering around the turbines on the ground takes him nearly twice as long as doing a turbine-free field.

Schneider went on to point out when turbines are installed, they bring in massive equipment and cranes to erect them. Plus, multiple semi-truck trips. Utility lines are buried from tower to their substations and local distribution panels. This work creates compaction and often cuts existing drainage tiles. While all this can be fixed it can take decades for the soil to return to the same health level it was before.

Also, Schneder reminds people that in some places, perhaps up to 60% of the people who are farming the land are renters and the landowner gets the profits, not the farmers.

Schneider concluded his article by saying, “I am not arguing that wind power is a bad thing, and that we shouldn’t install it in farm fields. I am just pointing out there are always two sides to a viewpoint and both sides should be considered before making a decision.”

Morley Wood, a former Aerial Appreciator, cautioned, “There are restrictions on how close to them [wind turbines] you can legally fly to apply spray. I would check that out with your local FAA.”

Others who shared their observations and opinions included Davene Sheridan. She calls them “Gentle Giants,” saying she knows people who live among them, and they know of no harm to animals.

Ben Groening who lives in southern Manitoba Canada, said he sees no problem with them.

“Some say they are not attractive, but that’s in the eye of the beholder,” he said.

As a pilot, Groening did point out that he would like to have lights on them.

“I don’t fly often at night and not that low when I do, but for safety reasons I wish our laws in Canada would require a light,” he said.

At least the U.S. has the good sense to put lights on them for safety, even if they aren’t a popular addition to the landscape!

“We don’t have them, and don’t want the, but we have seen the loss and damage to the ground,” Diana Billheimer a farmer from Kansas stated. “They offer the farmer a lot of money, but not sure it’s worth it in the long run.”

Diana Reynolds from Vermont said she neither owns, nor lives by wind turbines, but she passed many “huge turbine areas” while driving to her winter home in Arizona.

“I noticed how many are offline, but one thing that set me against them was the magnitude of the size of each blade,” Reynolds said. “What the heck are they going to do with these blades when they go permanently offline? I hear bury them.”

Reynolds added that she, “Appreciates the theory of wind usage, but they hurt the environment and nature, both. Long ago a reason for the likelihood of a home not selling was because it was near a power line, people continue to worry about possible effects.”

Other comments came from Zelda Lewis from a nearby state.

“It depends on which side of the fence you are on,” Lewis said. “As a landowner they take up quite a bit of the land to install, they compact the soil and check the policies if they break or go broke, as the contract we saw for Dewitt County Illinois, they pour 20 feet of concrete but only had to remove 4 feet.”

Lewis occluded by saying,” Our family is not a fan.”

Mary Robeson who lives in Illinois on an acreage has no wind turbines on her property but said their coop is putting in wind turbines as they can. She compared the pipeline that ran through her family’s farm in Iowa to having wind turbines on property.

Robeson said her dad was paid rent on all the wells and my parents had no problem with the people running the pipeline. On a visit to Iowa, she noted the wind turbines that stretch for 15 miles or more in Northern Iowa.

“I think there is something quite majestic about them,” Robeson said.

Another Illinois resident, Charlotte Masonholder lives in an area that is populated by a few wind turbines. She said she never saw more than two or three on 20 acres or more, adding they stood by one and there was no noise.

Are they recyclable? There is controversy over that concern and no firm answer.

According to an article published by CNN recycling blades is the biggest problem. Ninety per cent of the base of the turbines can be recycled by today’s methods, but there is no fast or easy way to recycle the blades.

As of now most of them end up in landfills. Thousands are laying in piles waiting to be taken to a landfill site. Transporting these monsters is neither easy nor cheap.

The blades are made of fiberglass bound together with epoxy resin making them so strong recycling them is not only expensive, but nearly impossible.

This is a problem the industry is frantically trying to solve, and Danish Wind Co. “Vestas” recently said they have solved the problem with a “break though solution” that would allow blades to be recycled safely.

If this proves to be feasible it could be a “game changer” said materials engineer of Cambridge University. As weird as it sounds recycled food grade potassium can be used to make gummy bears, among other things.

The question remains, how and when will this solution be available? Making enough of the product to meet the demand and distributing it as needed still needs to be addressed. Meanwhile, the worn-out blades are piling up awaiting disposal.

Another issue that needs to be addressed: What if the company that owns them goes broke? What if a better and less intrusive way to harness wind power is found? What will happen to the thousands of wind turbines dotting the landscape? Who will remove them and at what cost?

Recently “Winding Stair Wind,” a commercial wind energy company terminated its leases with Tama County landowners because of a significant amount of local opposition. From July 2021 through June 2022 approximately 25 easements ranging in size from three acres to over 500 acres were filed with the Tama County Recorder’s office between Winding Stairs Wind projects LLC and landowners.

A local coalition, “Tama County Against Turbines” (TCAT) formed in direct opposition to the project. In February landowners with the Apex leases under the Winding Stair Wind project were informed of the termination of the project but each declined to comment on the information.

The above article is just a sampling of thoughts and observations from across the country and beyond to give people an idea of the pros and cons residents in other communities think about wind turbines.

I found it interesting that few landowners who have wind turbines on their property, or famers who are renting land that has them on it didn’t come forth to tell us how many wind turbines they have on their land, how much land they devoted to them, and their overall satisfaction with them. Most of the replies came from people’s observations and opinions. This is only my opinion, but it seems strange that more people who have had firsthand experience with them were reluctant to share their experience.

A moratorium has been requested for Henry County to allow more time to decide to allow, or not allow wind turbines. While this will solve the immediate question, will it make the decision easier in the future or will it just a be replay of the controversy the counties are dealing with now? Maybe new and better ways to harness wind energy will be invented or better ways to dispose of the unusable or outdated turbines. And blades. The answers to those concerns remind unknown.