Kenyon Wind, LLC Goodhue County Wind Energy Conversion System

STATUS: In progress with opposition

OPPOSITION: Environmental and Citizens: Citizens for Environmental Rights & Safety, LLC

PROSPECTS: Prolonged delay

BACKGROUND: Kenyon Wind, LLC was granted a final permit by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in July 2007 for its 18.9-megawatt wind-energy conversion system. Landowners and other opposition groups contested the project raising questions about noise, impacts on communications systems, potential for annoyance, visual impacts, safety and engineering considerations and property values impacts. In January 2009, the permit was amended to allow Kenyon Wind, LLC flexibility with the type of turbines, spacing, and an extension of both the power purchase agreement and beginning date for the two-year period of construction allowed.

SOURCES: Minnesota Public Utilities Commission;

Comments

[Rick Conrad]

There is very little local support for the wind projects proposed in Goodhue County. The Geronimo and Goodhue Wind projects which are more centrally located have met continually rising opposition. Goodhue Wind made the claim that quote, “Our project currently represents 37 landowners and 17 local investors. Our coalition of interested community members grows every day that we work on the project“. Their project has been in existence for more than a year, the exact length of time known only to a small group of insiders. If interest was growing daily they should already have signed more than three hundred people. What is growing is the resentment for what a small group of local people and wind developers are planning to do to our homes, our families, and our community. There simply is no real community support for industrial wind. Around one hundred people from Goodhue County wrote the PUC during the comment period. They asked the PUC to protect them and their families.
We question the necessity of these projects, their benefits to the community, and even whether they will help to prevent global climate change. But most of all we are concerned about how the wind energy development will destroy our quiet peaceful rural community. While the 50-db noise limit may be adequate to control the peak noise levels in an urban environment. This is a quiet rural area. The 50-db limit will allow noise that could be 20 to 40 times as loud as our current background level . We feel that the .6 mile setbacks recommended by Minnesota Health Department in their May 2009 white paper should be the minimum distance that the Minnesota PUC allow Industrial wind facilities to placed from our homes without our permission to site them closer. We are not trying to unreasonably stop wind development. We are in favor alternative energy and saving the planet . But we will not benefit from wind energy development if in the process our homes and community are destroyed.

Go to Areavoices.com to search for Rick Conrad Goodhue wind blog or do a google search for Goodhue wind problems setbacks
Go to Goodhuewindtruth.com to see videos and personal accounts from people dealing with wind development plans, be very careful before signing away your wind AND property rights.

Rick Conrad 19 Oct 09