LETTER: County residents deserve say on wind farm

In The Daily Republic article dated Dec. 31, Jeff Bathke, the Davison County zoning administrator, was interviewed about the zoning issues surrounding the proposed Juhl wind project west of Mitchell.

In the article, Bathke confirmed that the Davison County Commissioners have been working on updating the zoning ordinances prior to the Juhl application. Bathke explained the process for developing the wind ordinances, wherein his recommendations would first be presented to the commissioners for their input and changes, then to the public for input and changes. Finally, the commissioners would vote to include the resultant items in the revised Davison County zoning ordinance, which would apply to all future wind conversion projects.

But wait! What about Juhl’s permit that is still on the table? Its permit contains no conditions or safeguards. Bathke’s reported view in the article was, “If Bathke’s recommendations are approved in early 2016, Juhl Energy’s proposal would already meet the new guidelines.”

That sounds like the Juhl proposal is a done deal and the county should, in good faith, approve its permit with no conditions because they are voluntarily agreeing to comply with a set of standards that they wrote and that he assumes will, in the future, be in compliance anyway.

Bathke’s assumptions that the people of Davison County even want wind energy conversion projects and that his already formed recommendations would weather the process he laid out for creating them are, well, presumptuous.

Shouldn’t the process he outlined for drafting these recommendations be followed prior to the approval or denial of Juhl’s permit? Wouldn’t it be prudent of the Board of Adjustment in the upcoming Feb. 9 meeting to simply deny the permit on grounds that it is not in the best interest of the citizens of Davison County because it lacks any conditions or safeguards?

Concerning industrial wind conversion projects, there are so many controversial issues related to them, let’s first find out what the people of Davison County want and how they want to do it and then act on their behalf for the safety and protection of everyone.

Jerry Scott

Mitchell

LETTER: County residents deserve say on wind farm

LETTER: Talk with candidates about wind, solar energy

Iowans understand the responsibility of hosting the Iowa caucuses. It’s a privilege to ask those who run for the presidency hard questions about their vision for America.

With less than one month to go, the conversation between candidates and Iowans is beginning to broaden. We agree the economy, national security and health care play significant roles in our lives every day. Still unclear are other issues that directly impact the future of our state. Let’s talk about wind and solar energy and conservation and land stewardship and preserving our natural resources.

Iowa is a national leader in wind production. Today, more than 25 percent of all electricity generated in the state comes from wind turbines. The economic impact of wind energy benefits land owners, energy companies, consumers and the workforce. More than 6,000 Iowa jobs are tied to wind energy, and wind yields more than $16 million annually in lease payments to landowners. What’s more, wind energy cuts water waste, saving an estimated 3.2 billion gallons of Iowans’ water annually. Now, we are poised to see growth in Iowa’s solar power industry, bringing even greater energy security, job opportunities and savings.

It is important presidential candidates understand the significance these energy sources play in powering Iowa’s lights and economy, while conserving our water, our soil and the air we breathe. Help share the positive things happening in Iowa, and ask the candidates if they share the vision. – Adam Pitts, Cherokee, Iowa

LETTER: Talk with candidates about wind, solar energy

LETTER: Renewable energy key to state's future

Wind turbines.(Photo: ~File photo)

The Senate recently passed a bill that establishes renewable energy portfolio standards and requires a percentage of our electricity to come from class I renewable energy. This percentage will increase every five years from 2015 to 2050 with the ultimate goal to reach 80 percent renewable by 2050.

This is an important bill to move New Jersey forward with renewable energy and a big victory in our fight against climate change. It sends a clear message after Paris that New Jersey is ready for more renewable energy and a greener economy. The bill needs to be posted by Jan. 11 to pass the Assembly.

There are plenty of new technologies that we can use to reach these goals. New Jersey can be a leader for solar and wind power. We can also use geothermal power, microgrids and wave technologies. Renewable energy creates jobs and promotes economic growth while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fighting climate change and the effects of it including storm events and sea level rise. This will help us meet goals of the Global Warming Response Act.

This bill the first real step for the state to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, grow our economy, and create green jobs. This legislation is a game changer; the Senate is standing up for clean energy and against fossil fuels. This is an important step for New Jersey. This bill will put New Jersey on the path towards 80 percent clean energy by 2050. We need to move the state forward to cleaner energy with this bill by requiring us to switch to more renewable energy and away from dirty fossil fuels.

Greg Gorman

Conservation Chair

New Jersey Sierra Club

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LETTER: Renewable energy key to state"s future

LETTER: wind turbine is such an eyesore

I know many would disagree with me, but why not write in a say so

But I think the wind turnbine that you can see from Eastwood and Kimberley is an eyesore.

There is not doubting they are clean energy producers and are the future for now, but they are not pretty no matter what anyone says in my book.

Our scientists will surely come up with something that does the same thing interms of producing energy but is not a patch on the size and impact this thing has on the landscape. I just wondered what other readers of the Advertiser think.

B Holmes

Heanor

LETTER: wind turbine is such an eyesore

Letter: SB208 lets Rocky Mountain Power overcharge solar users

I am writing to protest SB208, which would charge alternative energy producers for using Rocky Mountain Power’s net metering. We have solar panels that produce energy during the day when it is more expensive. We then use the cheaper night-time energy.

Rocky Mountain Power is profiting from our solar energy and we are paying all the surcharges already — so why add an additional monthly fee?

We also pay into Rocky Mountain Power’s monthly Blue Sky Program, which is supposed to promote renewable energy development. SB208 appears to be in direct contradiction to this program. So what gives?

If Rocky Mountain Power really wanted to help the poor pay their utility bills, they shouldn’t be charging people who are doing their best to save energy. They should charge the larger energy consumers. They also should actively help the poor upgrade their homes so that they won’t need to use as much energy.

Utah and Rocky Mountain Power should be promoting alternative energy sources and conservation because that is the future. Or was SB208 created to discourage renewable energy production and conservation in order to justify building a new coal-fired power plant?

Melanie Florence

Ivins

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Letter: SB208 lets Rocky Mountain Power overcharge solar users