Riga Residents Take In Wind Energy Presentation

RIGA — The Riga Twp. Planning Commission, in conjunction with the Riga Township Board, sponsored a presentation at a special meeting Monday night by John Deere, one of the corporations interested in developing wind energy. The program was part of the township’s effort to educate community members about the ramifications of allowing or prohibiting the construction of wind farms in the township.

The presentation was conducted by John Deere business development manager Doug Dulmering and consisted of a Powerpoint presentation explaining the effect that “wind farms” would have on residents.

Reg Karg, chairman of the planning commission, and Jefferee Simon, township supervisor welcomed the audience in the packed township fire hall and told the assemblage that they would have the opportunity to ask questions after all of the planning commissioners and township trustees.

Dulmering explained the reason that this area was selected is predictable and steady wind close to a reliable and sizable power grid infrastructure. The fact that the developers have already lined up Consumers Energy and DTE to buy the power produced is also a contributing factor.

Dulmering ticked off advantages to the community, including employment during construction with a favorable bidding process for local contractors and tax advantages accrued through eventual property taxes after tax abatement.

He did not ignore health concerns that have been expressed by people who oppose the wind energy development, citing studies that counter the claims of ill effects of noise, flicker effect, and ground vibrations. He acknowledged the wear on local roads and said that a surety would be posted with the county road commission for fixing roads when the project was completed.

After the presentation, local commissioners and township trustees posed general questions that would address the broadest spectrum of frequently asked questions and then the floor was turned over to the audience.

The majority of the speakers were hostile to the idea of wind farms, drawing comparisons to the ethanol plant debate of a few years ago and the radioactive landfill that was proposed twenty years ago.

One questioner asked why the wind turbines that are proposed are so much taller than those in most existing wind energy projects and was told that the newer turbines were taller and more powerful than older models and thus produced more energy with fewer turbines, thereby reducing the number required to generate the 81 megawatts of capacity proposed.

Dulmering said that under tentative plans, only two to three turbines per square mile would be constructed, with a total of 45 turbines on the drawing board. He also noted that the project was expected to exceed the lifetime of the generators themselves and that when the proposed turbines reached the end of their useful life, they would be replaced by even more sophisticated and quieter machines, not abandoned.

Most of the audience was skeptical about the benefits to the community as espoused by one of the main manufacturers and vendors of the turbines and took exception to the presentation point by point.

Planning commissioner Kevon Martis, who has made it clear that he is leery of the wind proposal, was nevertheless moved to respond to one of the questioners that, “Even if we were to write a restrictive ordinance, there is nothing that would keep the state from coming in and overriding it in the future if it didn’t agree with it.”

Township clerk Karlene Goetz addressed a previous complaint about lack of communication and access to the board and planning commission by announcing the creation of a website for the township.

“Hopefully, when you go home tonight, you will be able to logon to www.rigatownship.com,” she said. “It is an informational service to let people know about times and dates of meetings but it doesn’t have a comment section.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, attorney Anne Seurynck, a member of the law firm that the township board has retained to advise the trustees as they go about the process of deciding on a new height ordinance for new construction, which is the issue that all of this controversy hinges on, told the audience that they will have ample opportunity to ask more questions and scrutinize the issue further.

“Down the road you will have an actual proposed ordinance in front of you, but in the meantime there will be many more meetings,” she said. “There will be time when the township board will be telling you which way they are thinking about going and you can respond.”

Karg told the crowd that the next planning commission meeting is set for Monday, Aug. 2, at 7 p.m.