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Dear Editor;
An Uplands Wind Fact Sheet provided on April 8th, 2020 stated the project would produce 250-300 megawatts of wind powered energy. However, a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) waiver filed by Pattern Energy stated it was developing a 600 megawatt wind farm in Iowa and Lafayette County's. At 1.5 megawatts per wind tower there will be a minimum of three hundred 650' towers from Dodgeville to Belmont. This gigantic industrial complex will have an enormous footprint which will negatively impacting our community in ways we cannot even imagine.
Next time you're driving down Hwy 151 between Dodgeville and Belmont, think about what our stunningly beautiful hills will look like with three hundred 650' intermittent power creating industrial monoliths spaced like smokestacks in a big city.
How is it that our legislators have allowed something like this to happen with no input from the community, and no way for local municipalities to stop it? Our legislators have created a regulatory environment in which one very large multi-national corporation and less than 200 landowners, all of whom reap substantial monetary gain, make the decision for the whole community.
When offered, Cathy and I refused to sign a lease with Pattern Energy. Please reach out to your neighbors and plead with them not to sign a lease. Or, if they have recently signed a lease, ask them not to cash the check which would give them a chance to change their minds.

David M Knapp
Mineral Point, WI