I had the pleasure to attend a meeting on Nov. 17 discussing pros and cons of the proposed wind farm of Tazewell County. Concerned citizens gave their opinions, both objections and endorsement. Then a learned panel presented conclusions from a study of the proposal. I was a bit disappointed that many of the conclusions were based on very scant information, and in many cases, information was so scant, because windmill farms are so scant, that no conclusions could be drawn.
The principle pros of the wind farm seemed to be that there would be some benefit to certain property owners, as well as a tax benefit to the county. The principle drawbacks seemed to be a concern that these wind turbines might have unfortunate visual, noise and possible adverse effects on water quality, and a considerable drop, as high as 13 percent, in property value in the 12-mile area directly affected.
I intended to ask a few questions, but time was limited and comments restricted. So here they are.
One, how much does each windmill (they call them turbines) cost? The answer was given, as about $10 million each.
Second, how long would it take, selling the product of the windmill, (electricity), at fair market value, to recoup this $10 million? Each watt from a windmill costs 10 times as much as a watt from conventional sources, but as far as your meter reader knows, a watt is a watt regardless of where it came from. It isn’t colored green.
Third, we recognize that in a free enterprise system, business expects to make a profit to survive. Before the stimulus program was born, that is. Would any person, or company, assuming they were in their right mind, be building these windmills if it were not for the generous subsidies, (that is, your tax dollars, provided by our green-behind-the-ears legislators), they plan to collect before leaving the windmills to purr along for a few years before they fall over? I rather doubt it.
Stephen DeGray
Bluefield, Va.
