• Please be sure to read the rules and adhere to them. Some banned members have complained that they are not spammers. But they spammed us. Some even tried to redirect our members to other forums. Duh. Be smart. Read the rules and adhere to them and we will all get along just fine. Cheers. :beer: Link to the rules: https://www.forumsforums.com/threads/forum-rules-info.2974/

Looks like I am going to be part of a wind farm...

300 H and H

300 H and H

Bronze Member
GOLD Patron
Public meeting with the county board of adjustment for consideration of building permits on 52 towers covering an area of nearly 7,000 acers. Our farm land will site 3 or 4 of these towers, not quite sure of the 4th one yet.

2.3 mega watts each. The local tax revenue structure will be changing for the better. Maybe we could get some property tax relief with 35 in the county presantly and with 52 more for a total of 87 towers, it should put a good sized dent in the counties budget.

Not sure how I feel, as this will change the appearance of the local country side in a big way. If you just look at the $$$ is feels pretty good....But it will be very visible of a change in the looks of the area, and that worries me to some degree.

Time will tell...any thoughts?

Regards, Kirk
 
Last edited:
Regardless of what you think of the view, the reality is that people who live within a 1/3 mile of those blades tend to complain. A lot. They complain of headaches. They complain of lack of sleep. They complain of 'thumping' noise caused by cavitation.

DaveNay, unfortunately has one near his farm home. Its off his property, but apparently close enough to his house to cause him grief.
 
I agree they will destroy the beauty of the countryside. I've seen them in the mountains of WV and they really messed up the beauty of it. Also don't let the hype of extra dollars lure you in. They preached the same crap about money from a casino not too far from my house and they were right in that it created extra dollars but most went to the state and then divided out across the state. Even the funds our county got, the county then turned around and spent more funds than they got from the casino so it was actually worse.
 
Just to clarify, if I had a big farm I'd take the rental income from allowing them on my property, but I would not personally have my house within a 1/2 mile OR MORE of one of them. There are simply too many complaints I hear about them from people who live too close to them and then report all sorts of problems.
 
The arrangement of the towers is through the middle of the sections....So 1/2 mile would be the distance from my house....

Don't forget the lease will pay in excess of $50K per year......on 4.

Iowa is full of these farms, and you don't drive far in the state and you will see them. We're #2 in the USA, only Texas has more. Food and energy from our state, in excess of the needs of the population. How many states have both??

The neighbors I have spoken with are excited to hear the news. But then again they are going to be on the recieveing end of the lease..

It's going to be interesting what the public meeting will bring to light. Then I will know how it will be recieved..

Regards, Kirk
 
In CA, one city got them taken down after a bit because they were killing some rare owls.
 
Kirk

The UK has had wind farms for quite some time and their populations are more compacted on a smaller land mass, here is a study, by US and UK scientists, measuring effects, its not very good news for you.

While I said I would want one no closer than 1/2 mile from my house, that may be too close, if this study is to be believed.

Perhaps instead of putting 4 turbines on your property you may want to take a bit less income and put up 3, with the closest being more like 3/4 of a mile from your home? And then planting some fast growing trees/evergreens around your home (within 150 or 200 feet of your home) to buffer the noise even further.

LINK => http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/en...oes-harm-sleep-and-health-say-scientists.html

And some others to consider (some say noise is NOT a problem, others say it IS a problem):
 
Voluntary...

about $15K for each/year

The studies find that if your not on the recieving end of a lease, you tend not to like living around them so much...No surprise's there. Funny how that works....

Regards, Kirk
 
300 H and H said:
Voluntary...

about $15K for each/year

The studies find that if your not on the recieving end of a lease, you tend not to like living around them so much...No surprise's there. Funny how that works....

Regards, Kirk
Click to expand...
I don't know Kirk, on the surface that seems like pretty easy money. Does the deal have a "cost of living" raise built in?
 
Kind of like looking at a gas well in Pa. but they are still studying it around here. After 4 years they put it off again till late 2015.:hammer: Meanwhile they are drilling the heck out of Ohio north of Doc.
 
They are ugly as shit. Once you drive east out of the Columbia River Gorge Scenic area they have destroyed the view with those stupid things.

Half the time they aren't even spinning.

Just another "green energy" government subsidized boondoggle.
 
squerly said:
I don't know Kirk, on the surface that seems like pretty easy money. Does the deal have a "cost of living" raise built in?
Click to expand...


Yes it adjusts for inflation. It also has a base line power expectation. In the event of the performance exceeds this base line, we get a % of the excess. If you don't have a tower sight on your farm, and the owners have a lease with you, you also get the performance bonus, as well as a yearly payment, as the wind goes over your land...

The wind measurement tower is on one of my farms and has been there 3 years+. I know the average wind speeds have been better than the wind maps have estimated, and the developer expected. We do have a good location, I believe. The Company is German, and I expect the equiptment to be as well.. They have gearless turbines, and I hope we get this type, with out a transmission and all the parts to wear out. Twice the life span..

So far as spoiling the scenic beauty of the area, well, it's just a big flat corn and soybean field here as far as you can see....right now it is a black desert of tilled earth.

Regards, Kirk
 
do it ,kirk If you don't the next guy will.
I passesd on mine because the neighbors said no and one neibhor did it. My loss was 500 month and 10% every two years. That was a cell tower.
Just add heavy windows if you need them. they will have lots of suggestions. Even large trees may help. Don't miss the boat.
tell them to paint it a light blue or the color of your beans.
 
I've been a fan of wind power for several year, but of course I'm not living next door to a tower either. But if your land is little to behold in the first place, and the generator is far enough away, I'm with JimVT on this. Go for it and bank the bucks. If you don't do it somebody else will.
 
T Boone Pickins went big time into wind power in West TX.

He bailed out and the fields stand silent.

The whole industry is based on being a tax shield for other profitable operations.

Legislation forces power distributors to buy 'x' amount from these windmills at something like $2.00/kwh vs $0.10 from coal generators. When they are running which is typically opposite from peak demand the power generated off peak is wasted...

"Profits" or payments generated may be fleeting. Remember how fast the Clinton auto exhaust gas sniffing industry went from 100% to 0. About 3 months. When Clinton left and Bush took over. It took well over a decade to re-purpose those empty bricks & mortar exhaust testing buildings.
 
JimVT said:
do it ,kirk If you don't the next guy will.
I passesd on mine because the neighbors said no and one neibhor did it. My loss was 500 month and 10% every two years. That was a cell tower.
Just add heavy windows if you need them. they will have lots of suggestions. Even large trees may help. Don't miss the boat.
tell them to paint it a light blue or the color of your beans.
Click to expand...

Yes Jim,

I want to be a part of the happy they did it locals, not the sorry and pissed off by them. Folks that didn't participate may be real pissed, having to see them every day....

The Company I am working with paints the base of the tower dark green, and it fades progressively to white as it goes up the tower. No one does this I am aware of around here.

The boat is sailing, and I am on it...:unsure: Time will tell us lots more...

Regards, Kirk
 
You will have to reprogram your GPS planting Trimbles to not run into them! We know how farmers get complacent letting the unit do the steering...:yum:
 
grizzer said:
T Boone Pickins went big time into wind power in West TX.

He bailed out and the fields stand silent.

The whole industry is based on being a tax shield for other profitable operations.

Legislation forces power distributors to buy 'x' amount from these windmills at something like $2.00/kwh vs $0.10 from coal generators. When they are running which is typically opposite from peak demand the power generated off peak is wasted...

"Profits" or payments generated may be fleeting. Remember how fast the Clinton auto exhaust gas sniffing industry went from 100% to 0. About 3 months. When Clinton left and Bush took over. It took well over a decade to re-purpose those empty bricks & mortar exhaust testing buildings.
Click to expand...

Pickens went bust because he failed to do due diligence. He bought the equitment and the site, but failed to realize he had to build the poles and the line to carry it waaayy to far to the load. The infrasructure didn't exist in the area he chose. His bad.....:ermm:

Just as with ethanol this could all change with the stoke of a pen in Washington DC. But some thing tells me if it does, there will be grandfathering for the existing sites. Exhast gas analizers we can live with out. Electricity is another story. Food and fuel is as well....

Regards, Kirk
 
I get your point but electrical generation costing 20X more than other forms of generation is out there on a ledge.

Do you get a bonded guarantee to remove & return land to was condition if it fails so your not farming around dead space?
 
grizzer said:
I get your point but electrical generation costing 20X more than other forms of generation is out there on a ledge.

Do you get a bonded guarantee to remove & return land to was condition if it fails so your not farming around dead space?
Click to expand...

It's been 4 years since we negotiated the contracts. Honestly, I know there is an equitable exit plan, but right now I would have to dig it out and look....I didn't think it would ever be built for several years now, and sudenly we are to a near point..I am sure it involves removal of all structures to at least 10' of the surface.

The wind energy form lends it self well to the new natural gas fired electrical gen sets being built. These new plants are mechanical, and can be turned on or off in a matter of minutes, rather than hours of any kind of plant using steam for mechanical energy(Coal and Nuclear) ...They can work with wind and make it more viable...

Regards, Kirk
 
Kirk, when I worked out in eastern New Mexico several years ago I had a conversation with a big time rancher who had several on his land. His take on it was that his ranch would have probably gone belly up without the income from the windmills because of the drought and low beef prices.

Now, he had lots and lots of acres but it was all semi-arid scrub land and he had some of he sorriest cows that this East Texan had ever seen. I specifically asked him about the noise and he said that, up close, they were darned noisy but the cows didn't seem to mind and his house was far enough away that it didn't inconvenience him.

Personally, I'm with you, $50K is a nice windfall for something that doesn't take up too much land. It would be hard to turn down and walk away from since they are going to go up anyway, on your land or not.
 
300 H and H said:
. . . The wind energy form lends it self well to the new natural gas fired electrical gen sets being built. These new plants are mechanical, and can be turned on or off in a matter of minutes, rather than hours of any kind of plant using steam for mechanical energy(Coal and Nuclear) ...They can work with wind and make it more viable...

Regards, Kirk
Click to expand...
More viable?

No sir.

Wind energy costs TWICE to QUADRUPLE the amount to produce as a Natural Gas generator facility.

The ONLY way that WIND is viable (as an investment) is if it is mandated by the government to be purchased by utility companies as a % of their use and also given special tax and/or investment incentives.

Wind is NOT viable as a cost effective alternative power source.

That said, wind is favored by many parts of our government and has been given special tax/incentive status, none of which is likely to go away. The more wind energy produced, the higher the electric bills will be for folks who use electricity. That is a simple economic fact. Natural Gas, Coal and Nuclear are far far far cheaper. That is also a simple economic fact.
 
Wind energy would be quite economical and feasible if the towers would be put up in the proper place such as DC.
 
REDDOGTWO said:
Wind energy would be quite economical and feasible if the towers would be put up in the proper place such as DC.
Click to expand...

No.

The blades would spin so fast there do to all the hot air that the maintainence costs would skyrocket out of control.
 
Melensdad said:
More viable?

No sir.

Wind energy costs TWICE to QUADRUPLE the amount to produce as a Natural Gas generator facility.

The ONLY way that WIND is viable (as an investment) is if it is mandated by the government to be purchased by utility companies as a % of their use and also given special tax and/or investment incentives.

Wind is NOT viable as a cost effective alternative power source.

That said, wind is favored by many parts of our government and has been given special tax/incentive status, none of which is likely to go away. The more wind energy produced, the higher the electric bills will be for folks who use electricity. That is a simple economic fact. Natural Gas, Coal and Nuclear are far far far cheaper. That is also a simple economic fact.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree...at all with you on the cost of the power. I was just pointing out that fro logistical reasons these newer gas fired turbine plants that run on NG can "mesh" much easier with a wind power generator. These newer plants can come on line or off in a short amount of time, adapting to the wind conditions.

Regards, Kirk
 
300 H and H said:
I don't disagree...at all with you on the cost of the power. I was just pointing out that fro logistical reasons these newer gas fired turbine plants that run on NG can "mesh" much easier with a wind power generator. These newer plants can come on line or off in a short amount of time, adapting to the wind conditions.

Regards, Kirk
Click to expand...

Kirk you and I are in total agreement on this, I was just pointing out, to those who may not know, that Wind Power is incredibly expensive.

Now add in the cost of a PARTIALLY USED natural gas "back up" station to mesh into the wind power to supplement peak energy use and to provide power on windless or low wind days and we just raised the price of electricity even high because now we have a NG generation facility that is staffed 24/7/365 but only generates 50% of the time and is capable of running full bore 100% of the time.

Essentially we doubled the cost of the NG by only using the facility 1/2 the time.

Does this make any economic sense to anyone (other than Obama and the green wackos)?
 
Congrtrats on your windfall Kirk. I hope it helps the bottom line .
Land in Iowa has gone beyon reason because of food crop and energy sales. Hopefully, you canbenefit fromthat.

My one question is not asked to pickafight,just a curious thingy about the government.....
It seemsthe EPA will shut down a refinery in Texas or Mississippi if they se a bird fly by but wind farms seem to be exempt from migratory bird control.

No matter where the are and no matter the nubber of bird kills registered.

Raptor buirds, including Golden andBald eagles are at risk. I do hope the technichians find a solution before toomany more of these farms are erected.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011...nintended-consequence-wind-power-development/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top