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Post by cptusa on Jul 26, 2022 11:13:59 GMT -6
Anyone have them, farm around them, live around them?
There a pretty high chance of at least one wind farm going in my county next year. There is an existing wind farm that it will bump up against.
There's a moderate uprising against it in our county. I'm just curious if anyone has had issues with them or legitimately heard of issues with the.
I'm definitely not in favor of them and will be ecstatic if the project falls through, that said I've signed up simply because if I'm surrounded by them I just as well take the money.
I'm also on zoning board and the anti group is really pushing to change ordinances basically forcing turbines out. That I'm not in favor of because I think it's an infringement on property rights. I had an acreage owner engage me at which point I stated your property rights end at your property line, they do not extended onto your neighbors, if neighbors want a turbine that passes setbacks that's how it is. Naturally they don't feel that way.
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Post by generalchaos on Jul 26, 2022 11:27:06 GMT -6
My son took a “Sustainable energy “ course in high school a few years ago. The teacher said the windmills we have in Southern Manitoba are not cost efficient. They are too far away fro my land so I don’t know anything about them but one farmer I know has two on his land. It seems that every year he buys newer and bigger equipment.
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Post by northernfarmer on Jul 26, 2022 13:15:26 GMT -6
Some years ago a company was coming around to farms trying to pedal interest in "signing up" for turbine towers and I never heard a thing about it after that. Prior to that I believe is when British Columbia in the Dawson Creek area and further south west had some installations installed on ridges which I assume are all government land and is east of the Rockies. I've never seen any of the windmills they installed although I can find one of the installations by google earth. The reason I mention it is that they used an area not far from here as the transfer point logistically to make a huge gravelled yard by the railway line and they had many turbine blades and tower sections hauled into that yard by rail and then they started the process during the summer of hauling them by truck as one after another of those very long trailers made to haul those blades went west to BC. Ironically after that the yard sat empty and then I assume an oilfield company bought the property and put in rail line spurs and that became a transfer location for frac sand from rail to truck and still is in operation.
My understanding of the wind turbines is that it drives some people insane with the instant drone of the blades and the shadow effect depending on sun location relative to your location to the turbine, and the red light on top flashing all the time.
Here is a writeup from a small land owner who experienced what its like being by a turbine and how they were so duped by the company and had no idea the turbine would go up very near them until it was being built and how some of the neighbours have responded because they did/do get money from the windmill installations, never mind that property values drop around an installation and is not even on your property.
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Post by SWMan on Jul 26, 2022 22:27:57 GMT -6
They tried to put one here several years ago. Most just signed the papers and took the money but there was a few holdouts including myself. There was a lot of vagueness in the contract and they would not edit for us. Truthfully I didn't want it here and ruin the wide open fields we worked so hard to make. If the viability of the farm comes down to a little check for a windmill things are pretty bad! They ended up re-locating about ten miles away just south of the border in ND. Buddy lives a half mile from the border and probably a little under a mile from the nearest one and says he can hear it from his yard. I've heard second-hand of farmers that signed up and regretted it after. Ask yourself if you really want a monument to sustainable energy like this to be in every scenic photo you take for the rest of your life?  |
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Post by kevlar on Jul 27, 2022 5:15:05 GMT -6
Some company came into my area about 15 years ago wanting everyone to sign up for them, they would pay so much an acre just for signing. They basically came to the area on a Monday and said it had to be signed by Friday giving no time for consultation with a lawyer or really getting any information. I never signed up as it seemed sketchy as hell, but my brother did, surprisingly he got paid the promised $ per acre for so many years. There had been a couple of towers put up to measure the wind but that’s as far as it ever got, I’m not even sure if it was the same company, and they were ignored as one fell over and was left for a year or two. I have a feeling it was done this way to just keep the competition out. A wind farm made no sense to me in my area as there is no infrastructure to handle the power created.
I’ve seen a few of the wind farms, they’re neat to see, but certainly wouldn’t want one near me.
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Post by northernfarmer on Jul 27, 2022 6:47:09 GMT -6
If I recall correctly at the time, the windfarm sales person claimed that the local Hutterite colony had signed up, I never bothered to confirm that with the colony but the urgency and handing me a whole packet of so called information and it all seemed so pushed/rushed but then never heard a thing after that. I don't know if they were paying out anything yet at that stage but it sure smelled fishy and have to wonder if it was some insane subsidy that we the tax payer are paying to these fly by night companies and is a get rich scheme for them. By the way SWMan, I like the upkeep on those towers and the one has the special invisible blades.
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Post by torriem on Jul 27, 2022 7:41:43 GMT -6
I've heard regret from land owners in my area too over the terms of the contracts, although I don't know specifics. And I don't know much about the issue of noise, but I assume if you lived within a half mile of one you'd hear it for sure. Definitely hire a lawyer and go over the terms of any contracts with a fine-tooth comb.
I like the idea of wind power in theory, but the there do seem to be some significant drawbacks that yet need to be addressed. Besides killing birds and bats, there is the noise issue, and land use and reclamation issues. But the biggest problem is the decommissioning and disposal of the blades after it's worn out. And it's looking like composite blades wear out and delaminate much quicker than initially thought. Design life is usually around 20 years, but blades start showing problems much sooner than that. Even if they last 20 years, there's absolutely no way to dispose of old blades. They cannot be recycled. Typically they get stacked in the corner of a land fill. And they are huge! In my mind this is a huge problem that no company addresses since they are in it for the short-term money.
I get the feeling that a lot of renewable energy companies are the slimy side, just wanting free government money. I especially get that feeling from solar companies, although that said we are planning to do a small couple of acre solar micro-gen installation sometime next year with a local company.
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Post by Oatking on Jul 28, 2022 9:06:30 GMT -6
In the contract does it stipulate the ban of aerial spraying. I know its bad enough to have hydro poles in the middle of your field. I Never would agree to one of these structures on my land.
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Post by cptusa on Jul 28, 2022 21:22:32 GMT -6
Contract is decent. Land owner group negotiated the contract then it was up to individual owners to decide. It's a frustrating situation. They are not economical to build without government money. I hate to look at them. If I have to look at them I just as well take the money. $20/acre with escalator whether you have a turbine or not, turbine pays more.
Whole thing could go or fall apart yet.
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Post by jcalder on Aug 8, 2022 21:40:59 GMT -6
Anyone have them, farm around them, live around them? Yes. We have 4 of them on our land and farm around a 5th on a rented piece. Honestly don't even know they are there anymore. Lots of people make a big stink about them but that's mostly people who just like to bitch about everything. Whether they are worth it or not is a different discussion and I don't really care. They do pay well.   |
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Post by northernfarmer on Aug 8, 2022 22:19:07 GMT -6
How has that worked out as far as aerial spraying outfits, will they spray anywhere near these particular windmills and if so do some companies shy away from area's that have numerous windmills such as this for the obvious risks involved ? . I understand from reading an article that touched on a court case about spray drift from aerial spraying that had been done in ideal conditions, that the windmills did and do cause an air turbulence that can cause spray drift which as the article said was affecting aerial applications more then a ground rig.
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Post by Oatking on Aug 8, 2022 22:21:05 GMT -6
farming around one or more is one thing that maybe can be tolerated, but living near by one is another thing and is why some folks are disgruntled. I wonder how profitable these windmills are during an extended drought. Can they compete with hydro dams if water levels are low. Wont be a problem this year but just saying!
calder , Looks like the base of the towers are maintained neat and tidy.
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Post by jcalder on Aug 8, 2022 22:51:55 GMT -6
I see lots of crop dusters spraying around them, I don't think they care around here. Maybe only fungicides though so drift isn't an issue? I'm not sure, we hardly ever use aerial spraying.
They do take good care of the ground around them. They spray something, most likely roundup, on the weeds and they never get tall or go to seed or anything. I really have no complaints about them at all. Even the driveways are mostly level with the fields, easy enough to drive over and they don't care if we get them muddy.
I do live far enough away from them that I can't hear them too. Closest one to town is about a mile away and I live on the east side of town which puts a bunch of trees and buildings between us. You can't see any of them from my yard.
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Post by northernfarmer on Aug 9, 2022 4:57:22 GMT -6
I get the idea that aerial spraying outfits like spraying fungicide because as far as I know that chemical is fairly harmless ( I think ) and also won't kill anything unintended, same in a sense goes for insecticides in the sense of not damaging crop but then there is the issue of its danger for people and bees etc. But in crop weed spraying represents another issue for sure and I think for some chemicals require a ground sprayed buffer.
It would seem that you are far enough away and the buffers between you and those turbines, both from a sound stand point and a visual for night with the flashing light and daytime with the sun/shadow effect of the turbine blades.
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Post by jcalder on Aug 10, 2022 12:45:54 GMT -6
It's true I probably wouldn't want the shadow of one going over my homes windows, that might get annoying. The sound seems harmless enough but what doesn't bother me might drive someone else crazy. Kind of like chewing. Some people can't stand the sound of another person chewing.
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