Wisdom needed for wind farm decisions

I went to a community meeting about a proposed wind generation project encompassing Reardan and Davenport.

First off. This project and the one in southern Lincoln county are huge. These have the economic power to rival or eclipse agriculture. Let that sink in a bit. Farming could take second seat to the concerns of power generation.

The thought of seeing wind towers on the horizons of the county sickens me. Look around Colfax and see what I mean.

One of the thoughts outside of the forum was why were they offering just a flat lease price for the use of the land? Why aren’t the payments based on a percentage of the power generated? Why are the profits Lincoln county wind being exported to Canada?

If you want the profits, own the power. Form a cooperative or corporation and own the company that runs the wind farm. Hire a company to build the system. Hire your own management or another company to manage its operation. Sell shares of the company or borrow to raise the construction money. This is just like farming. There is money to be made, not a ton and it takes time to get a return.

The bottom line is that landowners have some decisions to make that will affect the area for years. I don’t know the answer and it seems like almost all of them are wrong in one way or the other. Some wisdom is needed.

Kirk Carlson

Spokane, formerly of Reardan