Michigan Archives - Checks and Balances Project

Detailed report debunks claim that wind turbines hurt property values

2022-09-7

For years, opponents of wind energy have cited claims that the presence of turbines in an area causes property values to drop. Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) has reported that these claims are false. Now a detailed report in the Greenville Daily News of Michigan has shown that property values in areas with wind turbines… Read more »

Health Statistics: No Signs of Wind Turbine-Related Illnesses

2022-08-14

Opponents of wind energy in Michigan and elsewhere frequently assert they oppose wind farms because of their impact on public health. But Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) spent several weeks reviewing health statistics from American communities with significant numbers of wind turbines. The records and relevant public health authorities report no negative health effects from… Read more »

Opposition to wind forces Michigan employers to look elsewhere for renewable energy

2022-07-11

By the end of this year, Michigan companies will produce 3,544 megawatts of renewable energy, state statistics show, from an assortment of sources, including 38 wind farms that generate the vast majority of that electricity. Yet, many large Michigan employers seeking to power their facilities with renewable energy are now having to turn to out-of-state… Read more »

Wind Energy Opponents Are Costing Michigan Landowners, Local Governments Over $200M

2022-06-6

Often lost in the debate in rural Michigan communities about whether to host a wind farm is the cost to saying “no.” That’s why Checks and Balances Project investigated just how much communities and landowners stand to lose over the projected 20-year life span of wind projects in their areas. Our research concluded that five… Read more »

Community That Stopped Wind Project Now Seeks Bond Issue – Without Aid of Wind Revenues

2022-05-6

Eleven years ago, clean energy opponents in Lenawee County, Michigan, blocked a proposed wind farm that would have paid landowners and local governments up to $56.7 million over 20 years. Now, its school district is seeking a $42 million bond issue to fix its aging schools. If the wind farm in Lenawee County, Mich., had… Read more »

Wind Opponent’s Claims of Economic Ruin Upended by Facts

2022-03-23

During a rally last month in Montcalm County, Mich., Dave Stevens told protesters that the last four years of his life have been “the worst of my life” since the approval of a wind project near his home of Mt. Haley Township in Midland County. “It’s only going to get worse,” Stevens told the crowd… Read more »

Claims That Wind Farms Lower Property Values Undercut by Real Estate Data

2022-03-10

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 »

Opponents of Wind Energy in Montcalm County Stage Rally

2022-02-18

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 Files FOIA Requests In Five Jurisdictions to Track How Disinformation Became Anti-Wind Policy

2022-02-2

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 »

Misleading Ordinance Language Dates Back to 2014, Documents Show

2022-01-20

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 »

Michigan

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta