JAN 5, 2019 |DIANE LASECK, Lachine |Letters To The Editor – The Alpena News
Reading articles in The Alpena News regarding the resident of Presque Isle County’s concern on installation of wind turbines prompted me to write.
The first time I encountered a “wind farm” was in Michigan’s beautiful Thumb area. It is no longer beautiful. The farm consists of hundreds of massive wind turbines. The size, according to dimensions on the internet: 494 feet high, with three 164-foot blades, longer than a football field. Space required for one turbine is three quarters of an acre per megawatt; a 2-megawatt requires 1.6 acres of land. They have a towering effect over skyscrapers, churches, silos, and high buildings.
Miles of wind turbines are located in Tuscola, Sanilac and Huron counties. Gratiot County on U.S.-127 has 133 wind turbines. As of 2017, Michigan now has 900 wind turbines. Shiawassee County has a proposal to install 60 more, with some as high as 600 feet. Reportedly, wind turbines have affected property values, health impacts, agriculture, flicker effect, low bass noise, unsightly obstructive views, safety, and more. Michigan is not a windy state, regardless of surrounding lakes. In a Saginaw News article of June 28, 2017, a couple living in Isabella County’s Lincoln Township said they could see lights of the Gratiot Coounty wind park from their farmhouse 20 miles away at night.
In May 2017, Huron and Tuscola citizens voted “no” on proposals that would allow more wind energy development. The governor mandated the state’s renewable energy at 15 percent by the year 2021, effecting public utilities, but at what cost to our beautiful state? It’s time to rethink, Alpena and Presque Isle citizens, are we ready to destroy our landscape with massive turbines? Take a trip to the Thumb area.
DIANE LASECK, Lachine
Save The Huron Mountains 