Another side of
I must respond to the letter, “Wind farms power Van Wert economy.” It was stated that turbines are “supplying clean, affordable, stable-priced wind energy.”
First, wind energy is anything but clean. Google the mining of Neodymium in Asia and you learn of the toxic lakes that it leaves behind, along with sick villagers; it is an element required in every turbine. Additionally, every time a turbine spins, a coal or gas plant has to be on line, waiting to back it up, when the wind stops. This “cycling” creates more emissions than if wind was left off the grid.
Secondly, wind energy is anything BUT affordable. European countries, Canada and Britain that have embraced wind technology are now beginning to experience skyrocketing electricity prices. They are cooling on the promotion of renewable energy. The wind may be free, but converting it to useful electricity is extremely expensive. Just search the web for “The hidden costs of wind power” by the Institute for Energy Research. If gas backs up the wind, it costs us $0.15/kWh and $0.192/kWh if coal is used. What is the current cost on your monthly bill?
Thanks to massive subsidies, developers can afford to hand back some of the taxpayers dollars to farmers, schools and communities. I suggest they deposit this money because it will be needed to decommission the machines probably less than 15 years. By then, though, the developer will be long gone. Developers typically sell their wind farms in less than seven years.
— Dawn Davis, Spencerville