The Wind Energy industry has been taking off in the Midwest. The number of wind farms in the region . In Ohio though, new development has stalled because of the debate over set-back rules, the guidelines that govern the distance between wind farms and property.
That debate is heating up in rural Van Wert County, where a large wind farm was built a few years ago. Community Voices Producer Jason Goins traveled to Van Wert to ask community members about their views on the farms.
鈥淲e farm this here, feed the dairy right over there of about 3,000 cows, and then over there, that little white barn, that鈥檚 where I grew up," says Claire Harting, a local businessman and farmer who has spent all 79 years of his life in Van Wert County. He has agreed to take me up to the wind turbine that sits on some of his farmland. As we drive up, I can see why wind companies want to build in this county. The ground is smooth and flat, and there are few trees. There鈥檚 nothing to stop the wind.
鈥淥ne of the fellas working on this told me he was in to seven hundred something he had worked on鈥� around seven-hundred-and-twenty, and this was the windiest place he had ever worked on wind towers,鈥� says Harting.
We arrive at Harting鈥檚 shared farmland. A long, white tower stands in the middle of it. As we walk up under the turbine, Harting says that when the blades reach their max speed, you can begin to hear them. He mimics the noise.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l hear a swoosh, swoosh, swoosh鈥︹€�
Harting makes money off leasing his farmland to the wind-farm developer. He receives several hundred dollars a year for allowing the turbine on his property.
鈥淚t will make us more money than if I had corn on this little plot,鈥� says Harting.
He also says he鈥檚 always had a good working relationship with the company. He doesn鈥檛 understand why some people are against new wind-farm development.
鈥淏ut now I want you to get right close to one to where you could see how much it鈥檚 interfering with the normal people鈥檚 life. Does that bother you to look out across that field and not see anything but wind towers? No, it don鈥檛 bother me any. Like I said, I farm around it. Most people that don鈥檛 want them is the people that鈥檚 not going to get one. Understand? [laughs]"
But not everyone in the community agrees with Harting. The issues center on 鈥渟etback rules鈥�, the guidelines that govern the distance between wind farms and property. Ohio鈥檚 rules are actually pretty strict - they鈥檙e considered some of the most restrictive in the Midwest. But to Jeremy Kitson, and other members of local anti wind-farm group Citizens for Clear Skies, the rules don鈥檛 go far enough.
鈥淚f you want to build wind turbines, then don鈥檛 build them where people live. Find a place to build them that鈥檚 way more remote than me,鈥� he says.
Kitson says even five years after the wind farms construction, the issue is still sensitive among community members.
鈥淭his is the most divisive issue that I have ever experienced in my entire life and there is no middle ground. There鈥檚 family members that have ground signed up and there鈥檚 family members that don鈥檛 and those brothers aren鈥檛 even talking anymore.鈥�
Susan Monroe, the Van Wert Chamber of Commerce President and Eric Germann, local school board member are frustrated with the current hold up over setback rules. They say the tax revenue from wind-farms has helped fund local projects and schools during a time of state budget cuts. Last year alone, Blue Creek Wind Farm paid approximately $1.5M to local schools. And any revenue from the wind farm is money the counties can count on, says Monroe. 鈥淚 view this coming from a point of economic development and that鈥檚 a guaranteed income stream for the next 20-25 years.鈥�
Kitson, of Citizens for Clear Skies, acknowledges the extra money, but doesn鈥檛 think it justifies the downsides. 鈥淎re we a county that鈥檚 desperate for some economic development? Yeah, I think we are. But at what cost?鈥�
He says the wind farm noise can cause serious health effect. Members of his group say they鈥檝e experienced headaches, sleep deprivation and other neurological issues as a result of the farms. The link between these symptoms and wind farms is still murky - acknowledge symptoms but suggest that there is no direct correlation between the two.
Kitson also says his neighbor鈥檚 property value went down after the wind farms were built, although a local realty company disputes any change in residential values. 鈥淚鈥檓 supposed to subject my kids and my family to potential negative health effects? I鈥檓 supposed to take a 30% property value hit on my home, which I have probably the most capital invested in in my entire life? No, I am not going to do that,鈥� said Kitson.
I wondered if the county knew all this tension would erupt when they okayed the construction of the wind-farms. Claire Dudgeon, who was the Van Wert county commissioner at the time, says they expected pushback, 鈥淲ell, I sorta go back to a little bit to what my father told me some years ago鈥� of course he was born in 1901 and he saw the automobile come to existence...new developments come along that change the American way of life, and there are negatives, there are positives, it鈥檚 nothing new.鈥�
Right now, the debate is in the hands of state lawmakers. The Ohio Senate recently proposed easing setback rules to open the state up to new development. But the idea met opposition in the Ohio House, and . For now, the only two operational wind farms in Ohio will remain Paulding and Van Wert counties.
Jason Goins is graduate of WYSO's 2017 Community Voices class. To learn more about Community Voices training, visit:
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