by jboullion | Sep 25, 2009 | Uncategorized
Commentary by
Peter Maldonado
RENEW Wisconsin
September 25, 2009
A document released by the wind opposition group Coalition for Wisconsin’s Environmental Stewardship (CWESt) claims to find a cause-effect link between wind turbines and reduced property values, but the self-described study fails to provide significant statistical data supporting its contention. The document, titled “Wind Turbine Impact Study,” also contains a “literature review” that turns out to be nothing more than a Google search trawling through opposition web sites for subject matter.
Given CWESt’s opposition to expanding wind generating facilities in Wisconsin, one can understand the organization’s decision to release a preliminary draft of this paper only a few days before the Legislature’s vote on Senate Bill 185, a bill directing the Public Service Commission to develop uniform permitting standards for wind energy systems. As stated in the cover page, the author, Appraisal Group One (AGO), specializes in “forensic appraisal, eminent domain, stigmatized properties and valuation research.” Our aim here is not to criticize the stated purpose of the report, merely to assess the validity of its methods and results. As the old adage goes, “garbage in, garbage out.”
The first part of the study is an opinion survey of realtors including salespeople, brokers, appraisers, and land developers. The study lists the number of titles represented, not the actual number of people surveyed, and therefore the number sounds inflated. “Licensed Real estate salesperson” comprised the largest group at 34, yet a later figure shows that only 18 respondents actually listed and sold a property with a view of turbines. This survey records every realtor’s opinion on this matter even though only half of them have had direct experience with properties near wind turbines.
The problem posed by a sparse sample size has a more profound effect on the ensuing study of property values. The paper looks at transactions near the Blue Sky Green Field (Fond du Lac County) and Forward (Fond du Lac and Dodge counties) wind farms and compares them with areas without wind turbines. Curiously, Alliant’s Cedar Ridge project was not assessed due to lack of data, so the paper states, even though that project also went on line in 2008. There were only six sales of properties recorded within the area of each wind farm. AGO’s graphs point out how far below the curve the values of the properties within the wind farm are, but six is hardly a significant number to sample. The samples of out-of-area sales that form the curves for Blue Sky Green Field and Forward are small in their own right (62 and 28, respectively). Compare those small data sets with the 811 transactions within Kewaunee County alone that factor into the forthcoming Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) analysis at ten different sites nationwide.
The final section, the literature review, attacks wind turbines from all angles, straying from the paper’s ostensible purpose of analyzing property values. In a nutshell, this section surveys a broad range of impacts, including health, safety, wildlife, land use, quality of life, technological performance, tax policy and local economic effects. We tried an experiment and found that most of the bibliography contents can be located by using Google and searching for “property value impact wind turbine.” Not surprising, most of the web sites that appear in the search results are operated by groups opposed to wind development, presumably to support additional restrictions on windpower development. Nearly all of the citations can be found on these websites. To the extent the references include studies that were not negative to windpower development, they are dismissed in the CWESt paper as examples of propaganda underwritten by the wind industry. Moreover, one of the studies that found no significant impacts was brushed off as a masters thesis of an environmental science graduate student, a detail that might lead a reader to question the credibility of the source material.
As it turns out, the graduate student in question is Ben Hoen, whose novel and methodologically rigorous study of wind turbine impacts in New York state took into account viewshed effects. This approach is one of three tests incorporated in the aforementioned LBNL study. One line of research examines to what effect distance from turbines may have on property values after the facility was constructed. Another compares viewshed impacts on home sales and property values. The third test attempts to detect nuisance effects on property values. Expected to be released later this year, the LBNL report shapes up to be the most rigorous study on the subject of property values and wind turbines. Compared with the robustness of this forthcoming report, bolstered by 811 transactions in Wisconsin, the CWESt paper is weak tea, light on data and lacking in scientific integrity. Even though the data collection and analysis process is complete, LBNL will not publish its report until its findings have been thoroughly peer-reviewed. Until CWESt’s paper goes through a similarly rigorous review process, its findings should be taken with a grain of salt.
Peter Maldonado is a volunteer for RENEW Wisconsin, a sustainable energy advocacy organization. Peter holds a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Lawrence University. These commentaries also posted on RENEW’s blog: http://renewwisconsinblog.org
by jboullion | Sep 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Sarah Lozanova in RenewableEnergyWorld.com:
Currently about 85,000 people are employed in the wind energy industry, up from 50,000 last year. These jobs are very diverse, and include turbine manufacturing, wind farm development, wind farm construction, and turbine maintenance.
Developing an industrial-scale wind farm requires a team of people with a variety of abilities. Here’s a look at some of the jobs involved as well as the skills necessary for this line of work. . . .
by jboullion | Sep 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Sarah Lozanova in RenewableEnergyWorld.com:
Currently about 85,000 people are employed in the wind energy industry, up from 50,000 last year. These jobs are very diverse, and include turbine manufacturing, wind farm development, wind farm construction, and turbine maintenance.
Developing an industrial-scale wind farm requires a team of people with a variety of abilities. Here’s a look at some of the jobs involved as well as the skills necessary for this line of work. . . .
by jboullion | Sep 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Larry Bivins in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:
WASHINGTON — The record-setting heat during the summer of 1988 could become the norm in Wisconsin if steps aren’t taken to curb emissions that cause global warming, according to a new report.
Hotter summers and increased flooding caused by heavier rainfall are among the extreme consequences the Union of Concerned Scientists found in a study of the impact of climate change on the Badger State.
Wisconsin also would experience long droughts, more smog-filled days, a possible increase in crop-destroying pests and up to a two-foot drop in the Great Lakes water levels.
The Wisconsin report is part of an ongoing effort by the advocacy group to examine how climate change would affect different regions.
“Over the past 50 years, we’ve seen higher average annual temperatures, more frequent downpours, longer growing seasons and fewer cold snaps,” said Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech University and a co-author of the report.
The Union of Concerned Scientists is a Cambridge, Mass.-based nonprofit group of scientists and citizens that advocate for the environment. Its latest report is based on research and new data consistent with a study released in June by a consortium of 13 federal agencies.
The report assesses the impact of global warming on Wisconsin using two scenarios: one based on nothing being done to lower emissions, the other based on lower emissions resulting from an increased use of clean energy sources. The authors compared each scenario with a baseline period of 1961 to 1990.
“A comprehensive climate and energy approach — combining a cap on emissions with policies that encourage renewable electricity, energy efficiency and cleaner transportation choices — can reduce emissions 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 56 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 while saving consumers and businesses money,” the report said.
by jboullion | Sep 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by K.J. Lang in the La Crosse Tribune:
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse students are showing support for local family farms – with their stomachs.
Students at lunch Wednesday bit into Honey-crisp apples from La Crescent, Minn. They sipped creamy soup made with buttercup squash from Elk River, Minn., and topped their salad with grape tomatoes from Hillview Greenhouse Life Center, just a few blocks from campus.
Chartwells, the campus food service, served up the locally grown produce this week as part of a promotion, “It Takes You – Eat Local.” The program was developed to support farmers who grow produce within a 150-mile radius of the campus, said Tom Dockham, resident district manager for Chartwells.
The program allows students to sample produce that can be sun ripened for more nutritional value and better taste, said Randy Hanson, Chartwells executive chef.
UW-L senior Craig Wagner said he usually isn’t much of an apple cider drinker, but after tasting some from Lake City, Minn., his response was, “I wouldn’t turn it down if they offered it again.”
He was enthusiastic about the program behind the cider as well, saying, “I think it is important to support the local economy.”
by jboullion | Sep 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an announcement issued by Focus on Energy:
Join Focus on Energy at the Third Annual Northcentral Wisconsin Home Energy Workshop at the Prentice High School. The program will feature educational seminars on topics including renewable energy systems (solar water and space heating, geothermal heat, solar electric systems, and wood heat), energy saving ideas for existing homes, and design considerations for energy efficiency in new construction.
This year we’ll be featuring information on homes right in our area that have taken advantage of various renewable energy technologies along with very basic energy conservation practices to save money and help the environment. The programs will also feature information on financial incentives and tax credits for energy upgrades and exhibits from renewable energy businesses. The keynote speaker for this year’s workshop will be Brian Driscoll, Community Relations Director for the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence. Brian will discuss a variety of programs that the State of Wisconsin has initiated to help citizens, businesses, and municipalities achieve greater energy independence.
The workshop and seminar portion will run a half day so people can send the afternoon visiting local homes that have used the practices discussed during the morning workshops.
Refreshments and door prizes will be provided along with lots of resource information on various renewable energy alternatives and energy conservation. A brat fry sponsored by Price County Kids Against Hunger will be available immediately following the workshop.
There is a $10 fee for registration by September 25th ($15 for late registrations).
To register or for more information, please contact the Price County UW-Extension Office at 715-339-2555. To register on-line, click here.
