A visit to a farm next to a commercial wind complex

Joan Null of Whitley County (Indiana) Concerned Citizens was one of a small group that visited DeKalb County, IL, in late 2011. They spent a day with Dave and Stephanie Hulthen, who at the public meeting we hosted in Argos last Fall gave a detailed and startling presentation about living near a wind "farm" and how it has affected them and their neighbors. The Hulthens' blog was recently taken off the internet, allegedly because of a settlement they and others have reached with NextEra. However, Dave and Stephanie's work to warn others facing a life of constant industrial noise, interrupted views, and terrible health symptoms that appeared only after the wind turbines were installed, is still making an important impact through archived videos and audio clips of their presentations.

The following is excerpted from Joan Null's personal account of her visit to the Hulthens' farm before the settlement with the wind company was reached:

And they are so HUGELY out of proportion to everything else. The 2 closest (wind turbines) to their home are 1400′ away – and they look like you could just reach out and touch them – they’re enormous. Dave pointed out a line of turbines that were 6 miles away, and some that were 8 miles away. They looked like they were just at the end of the field. (Note:  the wind ordinance that Marshall County currently has calls for a 1000' setback.)

Dave drove us around through the wind farm.... then, he drove to the edge of the wind farm, so that there were no turbines in view in front of us. He called our attention to the fact that we were looking at “normal” surroundings – farms and houses. Then he said “now I’m going to turn the vehicle around” and suddenly you’re assaulted with this view of huge, spinning sticks towering over farmland and houses. The feeling is gut-wrenching. Before I went, I honestly thought that looking at them wouldn’t be all that bad. I was more concerned about other issues. But, I have to admit that looking at them, and being surrounded by them affected me more than I thought it would. I can’t imagine our beautiful countryside looking like an industrial waste land; and not just for a short time…….but for the next 30 – 40 years.

If you’ve not made the trip to a wind farm, and talked to those who live among the turbines – please do. The key is talking to people, seeing from their perspective, hearing directly from them how daily life has been affected by the turbines. You won’t get the complete picture just by driving down the road and looking at them.
The entire account of Joan's experience in Illinois can be read at her group's website  wcccitizens.org