An open letter to farmers and land owners from your neighbors
Dear Friends, Neighbors & Landowners,
You may have heard by now that 3 very large wind energy developers have been contacting landowners in Tazewell County. They are signing up landowners for an industrial wind project. We are reaching out to you as a growing group of concerned residents, farmers and landowners who have done extensive research and thoroughly reviewed the draft contract with several attorneys. There have been 5 local informational meetings up to this point with the purpose of sharing information and concerns among farmers and landowners. There has been strong attendance at these meetings, and it is clear there is a lot of opposition towards the proposed wind project.
We understand the attraction of industrial wind energy to farmers and landowners when the money is presented in such a desirable fashion, and we are also proponents for renewable energy. In fact, farmers are quite possibly the most reliant occupation on a healthy environment. Many farms in Tazewell County are multi-generational family farms with a focus on providing the next generation the best opportunity for succession. It is by looking through this lens we are compelled to oppose this project.
As we are making decisions around this project today, it is imperative that we are looking to the future as this 57-year contract could affect multiple generations of the landowners. We have uncovered many negative aspects from the turbines themselves, environmental and health impacts to residents in the project footprint and feel there is inadequate landowner protection in the contract. We have received multiple legal opinions from attorneys who have experience with wind energy contracts. All attorneys shared similar concerns, which have NOT been adequately addressed by the company. It is for these reasons and conversations with others who are involved in both completed as well as rejected wind projects in Illinois we object to placing turbines on prime agricultural lands under such terms that have been presented to us.
Below, we have outlined several major red flags for us. There are numerous resources available online and we will be organizing more informational meetings. If you would like to stay informed and dig deeper into any of these topics, please subscribe to our email list.
You may have different contracts placed in front of you, or have different reasons why this may or may not work for your operation, BUT AT THE VERY LEAST, anyone contemplating signing a contract as part of an industrial wind energy development should have an attorney who specializes in such contracts review it thoroughly and explain it before signing.
Sincerely,
your neighborUnited Citizens of Tazewell County