Indiana wind farms (Monroe, Marshall: power lines, receptions, credit)

[Jaxson]

I don't think enough research has been put into bringing them here, including myself, but having grown up on a farm I do have some thoughts.

Not enough publication is being done on what these are going to do the natural water flow & water tables. It will change field drainage, we'll have flooding where we have never had it before and will it decrease the water levels to a harmful level?

Does anybody live near one can you post if it effects your quality of life or any health issues?

I'm all for finding alternative sources I don't understand however why they are going up in Indiana but the power is going to be sold to IL & CA. If they are in our state why isn't our state receiving the decrease in utility rates?

[summer22]

Flooding? From a windmill? What?

As far as I know, they just put in a stanchion or foundation for each tower. They don't pave the entire piece of land. I'd be pretty sure that they don't choose locations that are in the middle of a creek or a wetland to install a tower; the extra engineering and construction costs would be cost-prohibitive.

I had a client I visited who was across the street from a field where one windmill had been installed (less than 1,000 feet away from my client's property). I never noticed a single problem as a result of it being there, and my client didn't experience any problems.

I think your question about who gets the power is something that the market decides. Perhaps Illinois electric companies are more willing to purchase the power. I have heard that NIPSCO in NW Indiana is very difficult to deal with in general, including for projects like this.

[Irishtom29]

Wait a few years when the things start to rust and look like Hell because the utilities are doing the bare minimum of maintainence, just enough to keep them spinning and making money.

[Jaxson]

Originally Posted by summer22

Flooding? From a windmill? What?

As far as I know, they just put in a stanchion or foundation for each tower. They don't pave the entire piece of land. I'd be pretty sure that they don't choose locations that are in the middle of a creek or a wetland to install a tower; the extra engineering and construction costs would be cost-prohibitive.

I had a client I visited who was across the street from a field where one windmill had been installed (less than 1,000 feet away from my client's property). I never noticed a single problem as a result of it being there, and my client didn't experience any problems.

I think your question about who gets the power is something that the market decides. Perhaps Illinois electric companies are more willing to purchase the power. I have heard that NIPSCO in NW Indiana is very difficult to deal with in general, including for projects like this.

They pour concrete down in the ground for the bases the vibration from the wind mill will send vibration through the ground which could change the water flow. I guess we'll not know the effects until later like they found out about what fracking is now.

It will be interesting to see how well they do maintain them.

[domergurl]

can't be any worse than natural gas companies pumping water and toxic chemicals into the ground in the fracking process ... doubt water will turn brown and catch fire as a result of water flow changing direction because of some concrete slabs in the ground.

Of course NIPSCO is resistant to dealing with wind farms. It cuts into their core business which is burning fossil fuels so we can keep our lights and tv's on all night.

[Jaxson]

Being from rural Indiana I already know the trouble they have from not being able to get a decent Internet or cell phone signals now. Wonder if these windmills will lessen that even more? Up until about a year ago for 20 years I could only get 15k dial up living in the rural area and sporadic cell reception.

[domergurl]

You can move to Marshall County ...

Marshall County first to ban wind farms

[rrah]

Originally Posted by Jaxson

Being from rural Indiana I already know the trouble they have from not being able to get a decent Internet or cell phone signals now. Wonder if these windmills will lessen that even more? Up until about a year ago for 20 years I could only get 15k dial up living in the rural area and sporadic cell reception.

The lack of internet and cell service has nothing to do with windmills. It's not any kind of interference that prevented decent internet or cell service. You didn't get decent cell service or fast internet because the infrastructure (cell towers, DSL, cable, whatever) was not there. When we first moved to rural Monroe County 12 years ago, my cell service was decent. Internet was dial-up or satellite. There was no infrastructure to support faster service. Our small phone company upgraded us to DSL a couple of years ago. My cell provider installed a 3G tower a few years ago also. Prior to that my service was worse. I suspect it will be awhile before I have 4G/LTE out here.

[atler8]

I don't mean to be rude here but it sounds to me as though you have not done any due diligence type of research of your own about wind mills but have instead listened to or fallen into the trap of believing anything negative that is floating around out there in conversations, in the media or on the internet. Some of what you have cited here, as in the flow of ground water affected, internet/cell service interruptions, etc. is really pretty outlandish.
I give you credit at least for coming here to find out more but I urge you to be cautious in who & what you believe. And bear in mind that some news networks & media outlets are really poor sources of unbiased information & that widely-circulated e-mails are not a legitimate source of info generally...on anything.
By the way, it could true be that utilities in Illinois may buy some of the power produced by Indiana wind mills as it is a neighbor to Indiana & the market (a capitalist institution by the way) will determine where it flows.
But California will not get any of the Indiana wind mill power. There are no power lines of note that connect California to the rest of the American power grid structure.

[Jaxson]

Originally Posted by rrah

The lack of internet and cell service has nothing to do with windmills. It's not any kind of interference that prevented decent internet or cell service. You didn't get decent cell service or fast internet because the infrastructure (cell towers, DSL, cable, whatever) was not there. When we first moved to rural Monroe County 12 years ago, my cell service was decent. Internet was dial-up or satellite. There was no infrastructure to support faster service. Our small phone company upgraded us to DSL a couple of years ago. My cell provider installed a 3G tower a few years ago also. Prior to that my service was worse. I suspect it will be awhile before I have 4G/LTE out here.

This is interesting about the receptions I just know they ping off grain mills, towers and barns in my old rural area. Didn't know if a twirling windmill would interrupt those pings.

Originally Posted by atler8

I don't mean to be rude here but it sounds to me as though you have not done any due diligence type of research of your own about wind mills but have instead listened to or fallen into the trap of believing anything negative that is floating around out there in conversations, in the media or on the internet. Some of what you have cited here, as in the flow of ground water affected, internet/cell service interruptions, etc. is really pretty outlandish.
I give you credit at least for coming here to find out more but I urge you to be cautious in who & what you believe. And bear in mind that some news networks & media outlets are really poor sources of unbiased information & that widely-circulated e-mails are not a legitimate source of info generally...on anything.
By the way, it could true be that utilities in Illinois may buy some of the power produced by Indiana wind mills as it is a neighbor to Indiana & the market (a capitalist institution by the way) will determine where it flows.
But California will not get any of the Indiana wind mill power. There are no power lines of note that connect California to the rest of the American power grid structure.

Might be outlandish to you but these are questions I was wondering how other Hoosiers felt. Indeed I did state in my first post in this thread that I have not done enough research on the matter of my own.

Now having that out of the way why do you think the water tables won't be bothered by constant vibrations in the ground or concrete from the mills?