UPDATED with new information on livestock feed lot: A common complaint of anti-wind activists is that wind farms decrease the property values for landowners near them. Those complaints were echoed again at a Feb. 5 rally in Trufant, Mich., in which speakers claimed that wind turbines drove down property values. “Absolutely they can hurt your… Read more »
With a band, local comedian, prepared signs and two candidates for governor as speakers, opponents of wind energy in Montcalm County, Mich. held a Feb. 5 rally against attempts to build a wind farm in their community. The rally was conducted at the Wildflower Schoolhouse in Trufant, Mich. and was sponsored by Montcalm County Citizens… Read more »
Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) has filed requests under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act seeking details of how five Michigan townships developed their anti-wind zoning ordinances. Many cite scientific research that actually undercuts the ordinances’ claims wind turbines make people sick. The FOIA requests with Casnovia, Ellington, Monitor, Pierson and Vassar townships were filed last week as… Read more »
Readers might remember that we’ve been probing what happens when a rural community decides to host or reject proposed wind farms. In the course of that work, we’ve uncovered tactics and arguments that have been pushed from one community to another, leaving behind a legacy of strained neighbor relations and hard feelings, regardless of the… Read more »
Opponents of wind energy falsely claim that a type of low-frequency sound called “infrasound” harms human health. Yet, no scientific consensus exists that it does so. Misinformation about infrasound is so pervasive that it routinely appears in debates, official correspondence and ordinances in rural Michigan townships related to wind projects. Ordinances in several Michigan townships… Read more »
A series of zoning ordinances approved by townships in rural Michigan rely on scientific research that undercuts – not supports – the claims made to back the ordinances, a Checks and Balances Project analysis shows. The ordinances in Almer, Casnovia and Pierson Townships cite six government and scientific reports to justify the passage of the… Read more »
The success of wind projects in adjacent Gratiot County encouraged elected officials in Isabella County to support the development of a wind project that is projected to earn local governments at least $30 million in taxes. Isabella is a heavily agricultural county that hosts Central Michigan University. Now, with the Isabella Wind I and II… Read more »
BAD AXE, Mich. – Farmer Paul Holz looks from his home in Meade Township, Mich., to neighboring townships and regrets what could have been. Holz had signed leases with DTE Energy in hopes of placing wind turbines on his land. But resistance fomented by long-time anti-wind agitator Kevon Martis and allied out-of-town wind energy opponents… Read more »
A series of virtually identical zoning ordinances that restrict the development of wind farms has spread across parts of rural Michigan, a Checks and Balances Project analysis shows. Two of the three ordinances were drafted with the help of the Grand Rapids-based law firm Foster Swift Collins & Smith, whose partner Michael Homier is part… Read more »
Determining the benefits from wind energy for schools in Huron County required several steps. First, we had to learn how many school districts are in the county and their boundaries. Many covered multiple townships. Second, we learned the exact locations of each wind farm in the county and the locations of the turbines. We used… Read more »
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