Living by wind farms no breeze, some say
Nov 24 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Tina Lam Detroit Free Press
Dozens of angry people showed up at a public meeting Monday to complain
to the Public Service Commission about how their lives have been changed
for the worse by annoying wind turbines, and to recommend that if the
state plans thousands more, they should be built as far as possible from
homes.
Some neighbors of 78 turbines in the Thumb area said they are constantly
disturbed by vibrations they can feel inside their bedrooms, the
inability to sleep and a persistent hum that can't be drowned out by
earplugs or masked with background noise.
"I am the collateral damage," said Mary Nowak of Ubly, where a wind farm
opened a year ago. Nowak said three giant turbines behind her house have
led to pounding sounds she can't escape.
"We've been chased out of our home," said Marilyn Peplinski, whose
family spends some nights in an apartment.
The mostly anti-turbine crowd said those pushing for more wind energy in
Michigan have paid too little attention to complaints about health
issues and that turbine setbacks need to be much farther than Huron
County's required 1,000 feet.
The commission is expected to report to state legislators soon on how
many wind energy zones it recommends and whether the state should set
requirements on setbacks and noise limits. Now, such decisions are made
locally. A state wind board has recommended up to 4,000 turbines in four
regions, including 2,800 in the Thumb.
Jeanne Henry, a real estate agent in Caseville, said she fears property
values will plummet if turbines are closer than a mile to residences.
"We'll be an industrial blight zone," she said.
"If you make the setback a mile, there will be no more wind farms, I
guarantee," said James Manning of J.W. Great Lakes Wind LLC, a Cleveland
wind developer.
He said Michigan has plenty to gain from more wind development,
including manufacturing jobs.
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