Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy has sued the Supervisors of Iowa’s Madison County over their new ordinance that protects residents from the negative impacts of industrial wind and industrial solar.
According to Iowa Code 331.301 the County Supervisors have the right “… exercise any power and perform any function it deems appropriate to protect and preserve the rights, privileges, and property of the county or of its residents, and to preserve and improve the peace, safety, health, welfare, comfort, and convenience of its residents.”
Recently Madison County Supervisors have been voted in by running on a platform to protect residents from the negative impacts of these developments. MidAmerican seeks the right to cast noise, glare and pulsing shadows into neighboring homes. Instead of working with impacted residents fairly and justly it seems they would rather local government hand them the right to destroy the tranquil landscape against the will of residents.
Even neighboring West Des Moines’ Dallas County has a generous protective ordinance for residents that keeps wind turbines out of the county. Dallas County’s only turbines are within the city limits of Perry. MidAmerican has yet to sue Dallas County for their ordinance.
The wind industry figures that they would “only” need an area the size of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas combined (Princeton / Net Zero America study) filled with wind turbines for the US to have 100% of just our electricity, not all our energy needs, be “renewable”. That does not include the transmission lines. Their plans would adversely impact millions of homes and properties.
Energy companies lobbied long and hard to set up the 10 years of Production Tax Credit that will pay for 100% of the cost of building turbines in Iowa. That PTC was just extended for yet another year. Now MidAmerican’s parent company Berkshire Hathaway has written a letter to the 2020 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study in support of a new tax credit to pay for the thousands of miles of unpopular new transmission lines required for these projects. They do not care that rural residents oppose these projects.
Just since 2015 journalist Robert Bryce has been keeping count of the number of communities across the US that have banned or blocked industrial wind. That number is now 291 and does not include the communities that have fought and lost. Many communities were sued or threatened with lawsuits if they did not comply with the powerful, well-heeled wind industry.
When a community sets protection for their residents why does a simple utility company believe that its own policy should trump that God-given dominion?
Author: Janna Swanson
Janna Swanson helps her husband Paul farm in NW Iowa with their two young daughters. Since 2013 Janna has volunteered her time and energy for her community. She was a key member of the Preservation of Rural Iowa Alliance that protected landowners from the Rock Island Clean Line. From there she helped start and facilitated the grassroots group, The Coalition for Rural Property Rights to help protect community members from industrial wind installations. She is also a board member of National Wind Watch, a 25-year online collection of information of the industrial wind opposition from around the world. Most importantly Janna is a follower of Christ and seeks to help others to know and understand Him. Yet because she is also seeking deepening her own knowledge and understanding she welcomes critical, constructive debate. No one has the corner on truth, we all see “through a glass, darkly”. (I Corinthians 13:12)
