Land owners leasing for wind turbines: is it worth it?

And the answer is, no. But it depends who you are.

Let’s tell you something first: do you know how much the corporate wind developers are getting for their turbines? After debt payment etc., they are going to make $300,000 to $400,000 per turbine, per year. (Figures from Dr John Harrison and others)

 What are farm owners getting? Well, since their contracts contain a virtual gag order, they’re not allowed to talk about any details (clever tactic for the corporate wind developers), so there is no clear idea, but some have been getting as little as $7,500 per turbine a year, while others are getting $10,000 or more…as much as $20,000 per turbine.

This is all due in Ontario to the huge subsidies the government is paying the wind developers. Wind itself, being inefficient, unreliable and inexpensive, doesn’t make any financial sense without the subsidies. Dragon’s Den star and fund manager Kevin O’Leary knows this and says he wouldn’t touch a wind developer as an investment.

Money aside, leasing land for wind turbines will tear your community apart. People you’ve known for years, helped out at haying time for example, will be upset with you. And later, when people start feeling the health effects from the noise and vibration, and when property values drop, you’ll be nobody’s friend.

Here’s a snippet from a farm owner testifying at the Public Commission on siting wind turbines in Wisconsin:

It’s been 2 years now with the turbines and everyone in the community is irritable and short, they snap back. The best of friends for 35 years, but everyone just snaps.  People are not really mad directly at the wind turbines or even know what they are mad about, they’re just mad, aggressive.

The closest one to my house is 3,000 feet away — way too close.

You don’t get sleep at night because they roar like at an airport. I get shadow flicker in my house, but down in the village of Johnsburg where those are about another 1,500 feet away from the turbines — oh probably 4,500 feet total those blades are throwing shadows right over all the house roof tops in entire village … that’s really bad.

All of our tv’s got knocked out too. I can only get local channels when the turbine is turned in a certain direction. 97% of the time, we got no reception. There is no mitigation either.

I go to the doctor and now I’m on a lot of different medications. I’ve been to the hospital a couple of times in the past two years with chest pains. And they just can’t figure out what it is, but now we’re all being diagnosed with wind turbine syndrome.

And I sure got it. It definitely causes depression. Memory loss is the worse issue. I see it so bad in myself and especially my parents who are older. But they are at the point where they just don’t care anymore because there’s nothing they can do anyhow.

My dad is a totally different person since these things went up. He stays in bed all day now. Even if he does get up to eat, he just goes back to bed. There is no will anymore. I ask the doctor — how are they doing this to us? He just says he doesn’t know.

We Energies called today and they are going to be spraying for weeds, so I asked if there were any more plans for windmills? They said, they don’t know. I told em … “This area is completely destroyed, it would make more sense to just put a few up around here as opposed to destroying the rest of the state.”

I got turbines and the money doesn’t pay off in the end. I’ve gotta spend more on cutting around those things and all them cables. It has destroyed my farmland.

I feel really bad for the folks who don’t have contracts cause they’re still all stuck. Even if a realtor wants to sell a place, the first question a buyer asks is if there are windmills in the area. They just hang up.

They should be paying everyone around who is affected, that way – everyone who wants to move could get out and move. So many want to move and leave, but they can’t sell their property. The developers deny devaluation, but it’s real … the ones without contracts lost half the value of their property and can’t move because they have no money, still trying to pay off their homes. At least if you got contracts and enough windmills, you can move out.

It turned out to be a real shocker. This whole thing is not right, it should not be done in small communities, but you know, these are just simple country folk who do just don’t say anything. Even if it’s bad, they just go along with it cause what else are they supposed to do?

If I could write out a check from all the money they gave me and give it back, wake up tomorrow morning and all the turbines be gone, that’d be the best thing that ever happened to me.

Considering leasing land for wind turbines: take care. And call a lawyer.

Leasing land for wind turbines? No going back once you do

On the website for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) there is the slogan, we need electricity and farmers need money. So, when the wind turbine devlopers come along with promises of cash for their use of the land, seems like a great deal, right?

Well, no. Seems that this is a very complicated issue, too complicated for landowners to sign on the dotted line without really thinking about the ramifications of the deal. More than a few have regrets.

Also on the OFA website is a document with 30 points to consider before signing with the developers. It’s called “30 suggestions on wind leases for farmers.” Once you read this you can see the variety of ways in which the farmers can be taken advantage of … and there is absolutely NO mention of the potential for noise.

Here are some of the points from the OFA.

-have a clause that states that either party may cancel the agreement within 30 days

-stipulate that power must be sold to the government or you get to approve any other contract. Without this, power can be sold to a subsidiary of the wind company and the 3% rent you were hoping for will be 3% of very little.

-limit the area covered by the lease to a suitably small area–1-5 acres.

-do not allow a conversion to an easement as it will be more difficult, perhaps impossible, to discharge at the end.

-attach a map of the property to the agreement that outlines areas where new buildings over 20 meters can and cannot be built

-wind rights only: Do not allow any clause that give the wind power company a first right of refusal or an option for any purpose other than the use of the wind. Such clauses encumber sales, wills, development or other businesses, etc. [THIS is really important!]

-the land owner is ultimately responsible for taxes–a clause to require the wind power company to pay taxes associated with the wind tower is essential … you cannot afford their taxes unless you have their income.

Point number one on the OFA list? “Meet with your neighbours. Meet and work with your neighbours and OFA Services rep.” No kidding. How would it feel to know that hundreds of people think you are a greedy ignorant bastard?

Anyone considering leasing to a wind power developer really ought to read this from a farmer near Fond du Lac, WI, who wishes to remain anonymous.

Now each morning when I awake, I pray and then ask myself, “What have I done?”

I am involved with the BlueSky/Greenfield wind turbine project in N.E. Fond du Lac County. I am also a successful farmer who cherishes his land. My father taught me how to farm, to be a steward of my fields, and by doing so, produce far better crop production. As I view this year’s crops, my eyes feast on a most bountiful supply of corn and soybeans. And then my eyes focus again on the trenches and road scars leading to the turbine foundations. What have I done?

In 2003, the wind energy company made their first contacts with us. A $2000 “incentive” started the process of winning us over, a few of us at a time. The city salesman would throw out their nets, like fishermen trawling for fish. Their incentive “gift” lured some of us in at first. Then the salesmen would leave and let us talk with other farmers. When the corporate salesmen returned, there would be more of us ready to sign up; farmers had heard about the money to be made. Perhaps because we were successful farmers, we were the leaders and their best salesman. What have I done?

Sometime in 2004 or 2005, we signed $4000.00 turbine contracts allowing them to “lease” our land for their needs. Our leases favored the company, but what did we know back then? Nobody knew what we were doing. Nobody realized all the changes that would occur over which we would have no control. How often my friends and I have made that statement! What have I done?

I watched stakes being driven in the fields and men using GPS monitors to place markers here and there. When the cats and graders started tearing 22 foot wide roads into my fields, the physical changes started to impact not only me and my family, but unfortunately, my dear friends and neighbors. Later, a 4 foot deep by 2 foot wide trench started diagonally across my field. A field already divided by their road was now being divided again by the cables running to a substation. It was now making one large field into 4 smaller, irregularly shaped plots. Other turbine hosts also complained about their fields being subdivided or multi cable trenches requiring more lands. Roads were cut in using anywhere from 1000 feet to over a ½ mile of land to connect necessary locations. We soon realized that the company places roads and trenches where they will benefit the company most, not the land owner. One neighbor’s access road is right next to some of his out buildings. Another right next to his fence line. What have I done?

At a wind company dinner presented for the farmers hosting the turbines, we were repeatedly told – nicely and indirectly – to stay away from the company work sites once they start. I watch as my friends faces showed the same concern as I had, but none of us spoke out. Months later, when I approached a crew putting in lines where they promised me they definitely would not go, a representative told me I could not be here. He insisted that I leave. The line went in. The company had the right. I had signed the lease. What have I done?

Grumbling started almost immediately after we agreed to a 2% yearly increase on our 30 year lease contracts. Some felt we should have held out for 10%. What farmer would lock in the price of corn over the next 5 years, yet alone lock one in at 2% yearly for 30 years? Then rumors leaked that other farmers had received higher yearly rates, so now contracts varied. The fast talking city sales folk had successfully delivered their plan. Without regard for our land, we were allowing them to come in and spoil it. All of the rocks we labored so hard to pick in our youth were replaced in a few hours by miles of roads packed hard with 10 inches of large breaker rock. Costly tiling we installed to improve drainage had now been cut into pieces by company trenching machines. What have I done?

Each night, a security team rides down our roads checking the foundation sites. They are checking for vandals and thieves. Once, when I had ventured with guests to show them foundation work, security stopped us and asked me, standing on my own property, what I was doing there. What have I done?

Now, at social functions, we can clearly see the huge division this has created among community members. Suddenly, there are strong-sided discussions and heated words between friends and, yes, between relatives about wind turbines. Perhaps this is a greater consequence than the harm caused to my land! Life is short and my friendships precious. What have I done?

I tried, as did some of the other farmers, to get out of our contracts, but we had signed a binding contract and a contract is a contract. If you are considering placing wind turbines on your property, I strongly recommend that you please reconsider. Study the issues. Think of all the harm versus benefits to your land and, in the future, to your children’s land by allowing companies to lease your land for turbines.

WHAT HAVE I DONE?

PLEASE DO NOT DO WHAT I HAVE DONE!