Monday, September 15, 2014

From The Farmers Forum Survey: Wind Farms On Wolfe Island

I don't think the survey is on-line yet--at least I couldn't find it here--but WCO has
posted some of the highlights:

Farmers Forum surveyed a big chunk of Wolfe Island residents and found that 75 per cent approve of or are indifferent toward the 86 wind turbines they’ve been living with for five years.

There are also some hard numbers on what hosting a turbine on your property means $-wise:

We found that money makes a difference. Those landowners (many of them farmers) hosting one or more turbines, are delighted with the $10,000 to $14,000 they earn each year per turbine just to look at them. The wind turbine company hands over another $100,000 to the island annually. Improvements to the local outdoor rink are one of the many benefits. It’s like getting paid twice for having the good luck of living at the right place on the right island at the right 

$10,000 to $14,000 is actually on the low end of the figures I've heard (the largest been $50,000 per turbine).

The folks at Wind Concerns note some issues with the methodology: it appears to have been conducted entirely at the island's ferry dock and in a nearby coffee-shop.  But the result nevertheless backs up what more rigorous studies have shown, which is that most people in the neighborhood of wind farms are not particularly upset by their presence.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi there,

This is Tom Collins with Farmers Forum newspaper. I'm wondering where you heard the $50,000 per turbine for a farmer to have a turbine.

Can you email me at tomcollins@farmersforum.com?

Thanks for your help.