Letter to the Editor: New Bill Would Allow Wind Turbines on Preserved Farmland
Holmdel's farmlands could sprout wind turbines, writer cautions.
While driving home from Thompson Park the other day, I noticed a lot of lawn signs in Holmdel opposing the planned 342-unit redevelopment development at Avaya.
Recently, the pine tree-like cell tower planned for Porter Farm, next to American Way, is shaping up to be a contentious issue.
I also remember the fight over an additional storage locker on the town soccer field.
I’m sure proponents of these plans will and do label those who question or oppose them as NIMBYs. That’s how it always seems to go. I know, I’m a veteran of the fight in Union Beach to keep a 38-story loud industrial wind turbine from going up in my town, a fight still in the courts.
Folks in Holmdel – in fact in every part of our state – need to be made aware of a new threat to their quality of life and property values. A bill just introduced to the State Legislature, known as S2887 (Senate) A3992 (Assembly), would allow utility-scale wind energy installations on all New Jersey preserved farmland.
If this bill becomes law, Holmdel could be targeted for industrial wind development and there may not be much that residents can do to oppose it.
Add to that the fact that New Jersey shares the dubious distinction of having the shortest wind turbine setback from homes in the world, at 1.5 times the total height, and Holmdel estates bordering preserved farmland may have to endure 400-foot tall industrial machines just 600 feet from their property lines.
That means that the threat of industrial wind turbine noise, shadow flicker and the resulting declining property values would become a huge issue to towns beyond Union Beach. That’s why folks in Union Beach warn that NIMBY really means Next It Might Be You.
About six months ago, Senator Sean Kean introduced S2374 / A3473, a bill to mandate a 2,000-foot setback. To date, the bill is locked in its committees because the chairs refuse to consider it.
The chairs, Senator Bob Smith and Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula are both from District 17 in the Piscataway area. The industrial wind turbine soon to be built in Bayonne just 800 feet from homes is being constructed by Fai-Gon Electric in Piscataway. One has to at least ask if Smith and Chivukula’s refusal to consider the bill is at least in part to preserve Fai-Gon’s $5.2 million contract.
Senator Smith even appears in the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority’s promo video for their Union Beach wind project. Smith and Chivukula obviously have ties to the wind industry, at the very least.
Getting back to the farmland issue, the US Department of Energy’s Wind Resource Map, which you can see at this link, shows that NJ farmland is rated a “poor” area for wind development. Therefore, providing electricity can't be the reason to build wind turbines on inland farmland, as there'd be no return on investment.
Developers must only be seeking the huge government and ratepayer subsidies and special depreciation deductions available for building them. That’s the kind of business practices our state has become known for, and that’s why even Holmdel is now threatened with industrial wind development.
Bill Heller,
Union Beach
Baylover
12:57 am on Sunday, May 29, 2011
The heavily funded wind industry lobbying group, the AWEA, held a convention in Atlantic City the end of last year and it's no coincidence that they are attempting this takeover of every part of NJ, with Senator Smith leading the charge. We can't let S2887 / A3992 pass or we might as well hand our state over to the AWEA. Please write your Senator and Assembly people wherever you are in the state and demand that they KILL THE BILL!
Milton R.
1:35 am on Sunday, May 29, 2011
Property values close to industrial wind turbines take a big hit due to genuine noise and health concerns. For this reason, Denmark now requires power companies to compensate owners close to wind turbines for loss-of-value:
http://www.ens.dk/en-us/supply/renewable-energy/windpower/onshore-wind-power/loss-of-value-to-real-property/sider/forside.aspx
That loss can be 20% - 40% and more for homes as far away as 2 miles. Here’s the sworn testimony of an expert appraiser that explains why this occurs:
http://nowindfarms.com/blog/testimony-of-michael-mccann-on-property-value-impacts-in-adams-county-il/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CwwsSharedItemsInGoogleReader+%28Cohocton+Wind+Watch+-+Google+Reader%29&utm_content=FeedBurner
Homeowners should not be asked to be good “green patriots” and “take one for the team” for a technology that does not live up to its claims! Smith and Chivukula may well end up as a chapter in the sequel to The Soprano State for trying to push this one by the people of NJ.
Anita D.
6:20 am on Sunday, May 29, 2011
Michele Byers of NJ Conservation in this article first brought this to light in her article here - http://www.tworivertimes.com/issues/110527/ed3.php. It's an election year and we have to use our votes to get our representatives to stop this bill. This is crony capitalism at its worst, wind turbine wildcatters trying to grab up the sweet taxpayer funding while it is still available. And these two politicians from the 17th district are aiding and abetting this corrupt nonsense. Look at the long fight Union Beach is making to try to stop the turbine there and even their two BRSA commissioners are against them. Every town with farms in it may have to make the same fight in a few years if we don't stop this insanity.