LETTER TO THE EDITOR

To our neighbors and fellow landowners of North and South Hurricane Townships:

Please reconsider moving forward with the LaFayette Wind project. If you have not yet signed a wind lease agreement, please pause and understand the full scope and implications of the project . If you’ve already signed, please reevaluate and see what you can do to back out of the lease agreement.

Our family has just recently found out about this project that is happening in our own backyard. We are so disheartened to think that the farming community that we have known our whole lives is on its way to becoming an industrial landscape. If this project moves ahead, our farm (which has been in our family for over 100 years) will never be the same again. If this project moves forward, YOUR farm will never be the same again.

These wind turbines will tower over each of our properties, our homes, our safe havens. They will block our sunrises in the morning and our sunsets in the evening. They will create a shadow flicker that would surely drive any person crazy. Our landscape doesn’t make sense for this kind of project. Wind turbines should be placed on expansive landscapes where you can see for miles. They should be placed on terrains that are already barren and wide open, on landscapes that can more easily absorb the impact. Our community is not ideal for this kind of project, and though there is financial gain in the short term, if we move forward with this, there will be lasting consequences that will negatively impact our grandchildren, great grandchildren, and on.

North Hurricane township is a place of rich farmland, beautiful woods, peace and serenity. We can all sit on our front porch and hear the crickets chirping, the frogs croaking, and the birds singing. But, if this project goes through, those wonderful sounds will have to compete with the industrial noise of the gigantic wind turbines that have been promised to be scattered all over our countryside. The wind company has ensured that the turbines will be very quiet, but how can we really expect a structure that stands well over 600 feet tall to not generate any substantial noise? We’re trading our peace and quiet for a few dollars. We implore you to reconsider.

Our family was never contacted by LaFayette Wind to consider signing a wind lease agreement. We’re not really sure why this is the case, but because of this, we had no idea this project was moving forward until just a month ago. Upon hearing the plans, we were devastated.

We reached out to one of the wind company representatives, asking her to explain why we should consider signing a lease agreement. She was clearly excited at this prospect and readily provided us with the information we requested. In total, we have had three different conversations with this representative. Each conversation left us feeling uneasy and presented some major red flags.

The first red flag was when we asked who all in North Hurricane township signed a wind lease agreement. She began listing off names. A few days later, we found out that you can visit the Fayette County Assessor’s website to learn who has signed a wind lease agreement. To our surprise, the list of names presented to us by the wind company rep was quite a bit longer than what we saw on the website. We even confirmed with one of our closest neighbors (who was on the rep’s list but not on the website) that he had not yet signed an agreement, yet in each conversation we had with the wind rep, she was very forthright that he had, indeed, signed. It was clear to us that the wind company was trying to paint a much different picture than what was actually the case.

Another red flag was when visiting with a landowner of a neighboring property who explained that he signed a wind lease agreement over a year ago (presumably in October or November of 2023). He said he had a deadline to sign the agreement and was one of the last landowners to sign. However, upon talking with others in the area, it was very clear to us that he was actually one of the FIRST. But, the wind company made him believe that he was the one holding up the project and might as well sign (if everyone else was doing so and he was going to have to look at the turbines anyway). When asked what neighbors he confirmed this with, he was never able to say.

An additional red flag is when another neighbor (who had adamantly been opposed to the wind turbines) was approached by the wind company this past summer. He was told by the wind company that they have all the land they need to proceed. This neighbor (who had once refused to be a part of the project) changed his mind, because he was made to believe that the project was moving forward, with or without his land (so, he might as well sign and get a financial reward if he was going to have to look at the turbines anyway). Again, when I asked him what neighbors he had confirmed this with, he was unable to say.

Sadly, both of these neighbors told me that they were against the project. The first neighbor even stated that he was against the project now (even though he signed a lease agreement over a year ago). And, it sounds like the second neighbor changed his mind when the wind company made him believe that they had all the land they needed to proceed.

Has anyone else heard similar words from the wind company? Has anyone else been led to believe that you were one of the last landowners to sign up? Have you been told that the project is moving forward, so you might as well reap the benefits? Have you fact checked the things you’ve been told from the wind company representative?

We’ve read so many horror stories about wind projects like this, the detrimental impacts they have on our farms, land, and communities. Please consider that the wind rep who contacted you is paid to sell and convince you that wind farms are good, that they are clean energy that will be beneficial for all. No doubt, she also spent time emphasizing the financial benefits for you in the foreseeable future.

Please also consider that because she’s trying to convince you to do this, she did NOT mention the negatives. How these wind and solar farms will completely change our peaceful farmland; how access roads will be inserted at their convenience to handle the massive amounts of equipment that will, no doubt, devastate our land; how disrupted farmland will never return to its most fruitful, original state; how home and property values within the area will be adversely affected (potentially declining by 25-40%!); how the wind company holds power to do whatever they deem necessary on your land, without permission; and how you will lose many landowner rights you’ve always held.

Sadly, the energy generated from these wind/solar farms is not even expected to benefit our families. Rather, much of it is to be funneled to Chicago, St. Louis, and other areas. The wind company is using the financial gain as bait for landowners to sign agreements when, at the end of the day, they are the ones pocketing sums and sums of money. Perhaps worst of all, this money will go to an international power company (Greenvolt) in Warsaw, Poland.

We understand it is hard to look past the financial gain these lease agreements offer. But, please, before you sign (or even if you have), reconsider the deeper impacts these wind/solar initiatives will have on your land, your farms, and our communities. There is a lot at stake.

Thank you for taking time to read this. Our deepest desire is to protect our land, our farms, and our legacies we’ve grown in North Hurricane township. Once lease agreements are signed, our area will never be the same. We’d welcome a call to visit about our concerns; please feel free to reach out.

Sincerely on behalf of Joy McClure,

Heidi (McClure) Marks

Gretchen (McClure) Trimble

(Bingham, IL)