Wind energy in the Midwest, what an amazing MODERN concept!
These poll numbers of course don’t surprise me;
On the question “Would you support or oppose a plan to build wind turbines to generate electricity in the southern part of Lincoln County?†surveyors found 41 percent strongly in favor, 26 percent somewhat supportive. Thirteen percent were somewhat opposed and 17 percent strongly opposed.
So will the county commissioners wake up?
The company released partial results from its poll in the run-up to a county commission vote on wind turbine setbacks that would doom the project if left unchanged. Commissioners could decide as quickly as Tuesday morning
It will be interesting to see what kind of excuses the county commissioners will cook up to vote for these stupid setbacks (especially Schmidt and King). It will probably go to a referendum anyway, so they might as well vote against the setbacks and let voters decide.
But you gotta love the windhaters and their continued opposition based on what they can pull from their butts;
“We’ll take all of that with a great amount of salt,†said Winnie Peterson, Director of We Care-SD. “Some people were very upset about the way the information was presented.â€
We Care’s volunteers conducted door-to-door surveys in 2015, and Peterson said more than 80 percent of those surveyed within the area of the original 500-turbine project said they didn’t want to live within a quarter mile of a turbine.
I wonder if Winnie knows that it is a county wide election? Asking my neighbors what they think of a certain ballot proposal certainly isn’t scientific, but what would you expect from a group that depends on junk science to argue their points?
“As people from South Dakota, we don’t need to hire a fancy Washington polling agency to find out what our neighbors think,†Peterson said.
The poll from GOP strategist Glen Bolger’s Washington, D.C.-based agency is the first survey of Lincoln County voters specific to wind energy. National polls consistently show support for wind power and other forms of renewable energy.
The questions were asked of 300 registered voters, with 120 cell phone interviews by telephone March 23-26, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.66 percent.
Fancy or Not, it is scientific and way more accurate then the rag-tag group compiled of coffee drinkers from a Canton Café. I can’t wait to see them crushed at the polls, I’m sure commissioner King will blame the crack baby having liberals for swaying the vote.
The large majority of the pro turbine voters will be SF city limit folks and the anti wind will be ag… A ballot decision will just widen the rift between the 2 groups.
“I will do anything that is basically covered by the law to reduce Berkshire’s tax rate,” Buffet told an audience in Omaha, Nebraska recently. “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.” US News & World Report 5.12.14
There were blackouts on one day last week simultaneously in LA, San Fran, and NYC. At first, hacker terrorists were suspected. Later, the D+ rated power grid was suspected. One major benefit from wind energy is a regional (not national) power grid. Initially, it would be a backup. It’s to expensive and archaic to rebuild the DOE power grid. Wind power can happen by default. We don’t need the lawyer politicians or the fuddy duddy old timers. When you’re home, cold, and in the dark; you’ll become a big fan of Wind Power.
At the turn of the century, Edison DC power was popular. Tesla won out with AC power that became the standard. Tesla also discovered a way to distribute power wire free but it was never accepted because there was no profit for billionaires.
Said it before, will say it again. A farmer friend who makes about $60,000 a year in lease payments from the wind turbines on his land said one of his biggest mistakes ever was signing the lease. He absolutely hates them. Grossly inefficient, unsightly, kill lots of birds, tax break for the wealthiest. But, hey, at least we will feel good if we put up more…
Why is everyone so excited about putting these giant whirligigs up all over the windy Great Plains to become the nation’s electrical outlet?
Why do environmentalists, who hate the thought of oil exploration and unsightly potentially hazardous pipelines in Alaska or across the Midwest, have no problem sticking these 200 foot tall monstrosities up anywhere there’s a breeze?
How long before the fascination some have with these propeller towers wears thin and everyone sort of wishes they would have passed on the easy cash and they would just go away?
Why are so-called conservationists on the East coast constantly embroiled in legal fights to stop the development of a wind farm off the coast of their beloved Martha’s Vineyard or Hyannis port ?
Are ocean views more precious than the uncluttered view of a South Dakota countryside?
Could it be that maybe some serious thought, besides dollar signs, should be given to the wind generators before they go up and like video lottery machines, will be impossible to remove?
I see they finally passed the 1/2 mile setback which makes it probably go to a vote. Commissioner Schmidt tried to delay the vote AGAIN! I still don’t understand why this is such a hard decision. Hopefully they can get the 1700 sigs in 20 days!
http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2017/05/02/lincoln-county-wind-vote-could-spark-referendum/101203222/
If wind power is so great and the tax benefit is so good, then why doesn’t the government make the tax benefit available to landowners (rural and urban) to put up turbines at the residences and farms? Then we could generate and use our own power and sell the excess to the power company. We could also enjoy the tax benefit that the wealthy project developers enjoy. Of course, the law would have to be changed that lets the power companies set the market rate artificially low when they buy the power from the small producers. Environmentalist will still get there wind generator power. The locally owned turbines will be smaller and less obtuse and unattractive on the prairie. And the consumers farmers in house owners will make a little money. What’s wrong with that plan?
Thomas, I agree 100%! Would love to have a personal turbine.
How about a propellor on your roof but tell the city it’s a bathroom exhaust fan? Either way, it’s a way to replace natural gas.