Well that’s good news ( wind farm related )

They changed blades in a big wind farm in my area to bigger blades. Buried all the old blades in a pit. Isn't that nice.

Windfarms seem great until you live near one. Not so awesome.

Really?  Why?  No snark, just curious?  Are they noisy or do they cause some other disturbance?

They tear up a lot of ground to put in a windmill. They have to create roads to each windmill, which requires moving the dirt, hauling in large quantities of white rock* (crushed limestone in our area). They need to keep the roads in to be able to maintain the windmill. The roads cut through mostly farm ground here, but also grass lands. Large pads of deep concrete are poured to hold the windmills. When asked what happens if they decide to terminate the wind farm - they state "oh we will make it right again" - but really? If they go out of business, will those windmills just be left to sit? Will those concrete pads just be left to sit there?

I was shocked to see how the used blades where just buried underground. When they say they will be 'recycled' - that is what happened. They dug a huge pit and buried the old blades.

The horizon at night is a solid line of blinking bright red lights. This might not seem such a big deal, but when you live in the country it is very ugly. And up close it is unpleasant.

You do get a loud 'whoosh' when you live closer to one. Luckily I live far enough away to not hear it. Some complain about the way it 'chops' the sunlight at certain times of the day/year. So you get this blinking effect in your home as the blades swing.

I know the benefits of alternative energy and I am not opposed to it. But there are consequences too. Most don't worry if it is not in their backyard though. All the wind energy generated from the wind farms around me does not get used in our area at all. It is sent off on high transmission lines to other states.

I am sandwiched between two wind farms. They are not huge ones, about 110 windmills on each one. But when I look to the north and south at night all I see is red blinks.

Yes they do. They are supposed to not be allowed in migratory paths, but those paths are not always exact, as storms can throw off the paths. And just general bird flight.

Some people swear it affects the weather pattern. In my gut I know this isn't fact. But it still creeps into my mind. Since the big ones went up around us, the lack of moisture is distinct and follows the path of these farms. So it's hard to not wonder about it. But I resist putting on my tin foil hat.

In my area they want to add a wind farm in a farm area- hard scrabble land. Hard to make a living so land owners are happy to earn a few bucks for leasing the land. The best part of the deal- the energy will be sold to utility companies on the other side of the cascades!

I think it would be great if they could utilize the tops of buildings and parking garages for the solar panels. And maybe they do, but it would be using the area of something already in place.
The land owners do benefit greatly. I have heard anywhere from $3K to 8K per turbine lease. And it can really help the tax base of the area they are in. Windmills, solar farms, ethanol plants - all of those benefit the tax base of the counties they are in and directly impact the school districts. For some rural lower income areas - these can make dramatic improvements in the school systems.