Wind farms vs. neighbors - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 21

Landowners whose properties are leased for wind energy development
can often experience large increases in their income if the project is built,
while the income of landowners outside of the project stays largely the
same. Although it is seldom explicitly discussed, this economic reality of
wind farms can itself spark opposition to a new wind energy project. The
most successful wind energy developers understand the social and cultural
forces at play within host communities, and are able to anticipate how those
differences might impact a community's overall willingness to accommodate
a wind farm.
For most residents, the single biggest factor affecting their opinion of
a proposed wind farm in their vicinity is whether their own land will be
included in the project. Private landowners who expect to earn substantial
new income under wind leases or easements if a project goes forward
are often its most ardent supporters at the local level. Because a single
commercial wind turbine can supply power to as many as 500 homes,
enormous sums of money can be at stake for owners of these lands where
turbines are proposed. For example, a Texas cattle rancher in the United
States reported in 2008 that he received $500 per month for each of the
78 wind turbines on his property and anticipated that 76 more would be
installed in the coming years. 7 Assuming that these other 76 turbines were
added, this one rancher is earning $924,000 annually from wind energy
development on his property.
Although the prospect of such handsome payouts is usually welcomed
among those who would actually receive the money, it can turn excluded
neighbors green with envy. Consider the plight of a hypothetical husband
and wife whose land is situated just outside a proposed wind farm's site
boundaries and is thus not being leased for the project. Suppose that this
couple has long been close friends with several neighboring families whose
lands will be leased for wind development if the developer's proposal
succeeds. Historically, all of these households made roughly equivalent
incomes by farming their respective acreages. As friends of similar socioeco-
nomic status, they shared much in common and deeply enjoyed each other's
company.
However, if the proposed wind project is developed as planned, that could
all change. The couple's income will remain largely the same, while that of
the neighboring families will dramatically increase. The market value of
the couple's land might even decrease due to the project, compounding the
seeming inequity of the situation. 8 One can only imagine the fears running
through this couple's minds. Soon, their friends would be off spending
their newfound wind lease income on fancy cars, expensive clothes, and
extravagant vacations. Meanwhile, the couple would be left behind, staring
out their windows at the rows of massive wind turbines towering across the
street. 9
Landowners like the fictional couple just described who own lands that
are barely excluded from a proposed wind energy project are rarely fervent