Preserve our quality of life

Hi Everyone,

I’m writing again today about the industrial wind turbines that are proposed for our area.  We’ve had visitors from both Pattern Energy and the Longview Alliance at our home recently.  One issue that we see happening is the predatory nature of the energy companies’ contracts.  The people in charge of acquiring land to install the turbines and the requisite overhead power lines and other infrastructure know who they are talking to when they come to our door.  They have looked at the values of our properties, and they can tell on the way up our driveways a good share of how we are doing financially.  People who signed contracts early have lower compensation than those who these companies see as “lynch pin” properties, now that their maps are drawn.  The contracts, from what I can surmise, are a signing over of our property rights to the energy companies.

Over coffee today we came up with a question that I would like to ask here.  Understanding that a wind energy contract involves the loss of use and devaluation of our land, and the devaluation of the property of all of our neighbors, how big does that check need to be for someone who is struggling to stay on their property?  If Pattern offers me $150k to take over a strip of my land, am I not losing the use of that land, at least to some degree?  Wouldn’t I be better off selling 10 acres for someone to build a home on?  There is still a loss of use, but also a corresponding decrease in property tax.  There’s still a financial boost to the bottom line, but no community-wide loss of land value. 

I feel a sense of community with my neighbors.  Wouldn’t another family in another home add value to that community, especially in comparison to the damage to the community that would come from the industrialization of our landscape and neighborhoods?  I’ve seen the graphs on what infrasound looks like and I have heard the stories of people that have been driven from their homes because of it.  Wouldn’t it be a better solution to add to our community with a few more homes and families, neighbors that would add to our quality of life, rather than drive away the people that form our current community?  What if your decision to host Pattern Energy caused your next door neighbor a serious health issue?  What if that decision caused a health issue to your child or parent; someone in your own home or family?  These aren’t things that the leasing agent is going to talk about when the contract is on your kitchen table.

Folks, we have a real decision to make here.  If you see the payment from an energy company as a lifeline that will keep you on your place for another year or two, I implore you to go to your neighbors and ask for their help.  Most of us aren’t wealthy but there might be enough of us together to purchase that small piece of land from you.  If you are someone who is more able to invest in your community, even if you live in one of our great villages around here, let’s get together and make that investment and preserve the quality of life that we all enjoy.  

Respectfully,

Erik and Kipalee Bakken

Mineral Point, WI