GOODHUE WIND TRUTH

Facts and truths about Wind Energy and Turbines
New Information Posted 10/12/12

Action Items

Postings of any county, city or state meeting and important tasks needed by individual and community members!

Many Goodhue County Citizens are afraid to speak out because they have a friend(s) or family member(s) who have invested or signed a contract with Geronimo or Goodhue Wind LCC, AWA Goodhue Wind LLC. We have all felt intimidated by those for and those who oppose this project. Our intent is not to cause intimidation, our intent is to educate the community on facts pertaining to the misperceptions of the Wind industry.

The Wind Developers don't live here and never will. They will do or say whatever they need to in order to get the project through. They will make their money from the project at our expense and leave us with a damaged community.

Don't fool yourself and think this is a passing phase and the community will be fine when the Wind Companies leave, it will not. We will forever be changed.

This project will set the standard for wind development throughout the County and perhaps throughout the State. It does not matter that you do not live in the project area. It is time to speak out against this now.

Wind energy carries its own set of pollution which is detrimental to humans and animals. Health effects caused by low-frequency noise is one side effect, but not the worst. EMF (Electromagnetic Field) and dirty voltage are far worse!

It's time to be heard! It is YOUR RIGHT to protect your property, your community and your life! You have the freedom and right to state your concerns and opinions.

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein, 1918

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ALERT!
12/26/11

AWA Goodhue Wind will be conduction Helicopter Flyovers once a month till May 2012. If you experience any negative impacts from any flyover such as rattling windows, frightening farm animals or domestic pets, flying too close to buildings or houses, or upsetting wildlife (partically the Eagles) please follow these procedures to file a complaint with the appropriate authorities.

It is important they conduct the bird study safely and without impact to local residents and wildlife!

1) Call the Goodhue Co. Sheriff's Dept. (Non-emergency no.: 1-651-385-3155) and file a complaint. Information such as date, time, place, type of aircraft, any identifying lettering or color of aircraft, height off the ground at which you could approximate, direction of flight, speed of aircraft, etc.

2) Prepare the above material into an E-MAIL and send immediately to:

DOC.energypermitcompliance@state.mn.us

This is the Dept. of Commerce's complaint website.

2a) Optional but important: Bcc (blind copy or forward your email to windtruth@goodhuewindtruth.com). We will post your complaint to the MPUC edockets for this project.

3) Prepare a LETTER to AWA Goodhue, LLC, at the following address and mail immediately. Please include photos, sheriff reports, etc.

AWA Goodhue, LLC
706 Second Ave. South, Ste. 1200
Minneapolis, MN 55402

4) Call the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and specifically ask for Agent Pat Lund (Law Enforcement arm of the USFWS) at 651-778-8360.

Please visit with him about the fact that the Avian and Bat Protection Plan (ABPP) that AWA Goodhue tells us they are doing HAS NOT been approved by the MPUC. This ABPP was supposed to be conducted in the spring. Tell him about your specific incident (what, when, where). Also, you could ask how many birds might be injured or killed with these low flyovers.

5) Contact Mr. Mike Rothman with the MN Dept. of Commerce to let him know what is happening regarding your flyover.

Commissioner Mike Rothman
MN Depart. of Commerce
85 Seventh Pl. East, Ste. 500
St. Paul, MN 55101
Tel: 651-296-4026
commerce.commissioner@state.mn.us

6) Report the helicopter flyovers to the FAA directly. Click here to access the link for e-mail.

It is so vitally important that you take the time and effort to do what you can in this matter. Please do not dismiss your part in this thinking someone else will report it or do the letters or send e-mails. We need you and we need your help NOW!

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IT IS IMPORTANT TO REPORT EAGLE ACTIVITY

Please email Mary Hartman with eagle activity: m.petras@hotmail.com. We need accurate documentation to keep advising DNR, USFWS, and others.

● Minnesota needs to satisfy the Renewable Energy Standard . Minnesota has fulfilled the Renewable Energy Standard. The state will have even more renewable energy if they count hydro.

● Farmers can harvest the wind. Large-scale industrial wind projects are not agricultural in the true sense of the word. Industrial-scale, electrical-generating wind projects demand a huge amount of prime farm land in southeastern MN and throughout our country. Wind is exempt from our State Constitution for Ag land contracts.

● AWA Goodhue is a C-BED (Community-Based Energy Development) project. AWA Goodhue is 100% owned by Texas billionaire T .Boone Pickens. AWA Goodhue has a Texas business address as registered with the MN Department of State’s office. AWA Goodhue has been decidedly non-community oriented in the way they have done business in our community, as evidenced by the points in this section.

● Health issues are anecdotal and unconfirmed. Health studies on large wind turbine impacts and reports of negative health impacts are being recorded and are growing around the world.

Our own MDH (Minnesota Department of Health) has written a good study that can be found online. Setbacks that are too close for people are not being addressed.

Some of the health and safety concerns not being addressed adequately include: low frequency sound (which is not being measured); pulsating sound; unsafe setbacks from roads; ice throw, radar; phone, and television/radio interference for emergency communications and high rescue situations. LWECS (Large Wind Energy Conversion System) setbacks in Minnesota are unsafe!

● Property rights and property values are not an issue. The peaceful enjoyment of your property is being affected. Property values are being affected. The oft cited Berkeley Property Value Study, cited by the wind industry, does not reflect their claims. It is a contorted, false study. Ontario, Canada, is seeing the first property tax lawsuit in the courts.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT THROUGH ACTION !!

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” – Thomas Jefferson

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FURTHER ACTIONS
IF NOT YOU, WHO WILL STEP UP?

● We encourage Letters to the Editor in the Rochester, Twin Cities, and area newspapers. Send copies of letters to county, legislative, and congressional leadership, as well.

● Contact and educate talk radio on our issue. Keep them talking about industrial wind, especially the AWA Goodhue Wind project.

   Jason Lewis - jasonlewis@live.com
   Sue Jeffers - suejeffers@ktlkfm.com
   Bob Davis - bobdavis@clearchannel.com
   Rush Limbaugh - elrushbo@eib.com

● Keep updated and tell others to go to: www.coalitionforsensiblesiting.com. This website has a blog added.   In addition, see: www.goodhuewindtruth.com.

● Encourage legislators to have a Special Energy Committee Hearing to investigate AWA Goodhue Wind’s C-BED (Community-Based Energy Development) status. At this time, Senate Energy Chairman Sen. Julie Rosen is blocking this investigative hearing. (See below for the Senate Energy Committee listing.)

C-BED (Community Based Energy Development)

C-BED is being misused and abused. Since 2009, the AWA Goodhue Wind project has been 100% owned by Texans. The original intent of C-BED was 51% locally owned.

Money will funnel out of state, and the utilities paying the added tariff for kilowatts of electricity will ask the MPUC for rate increases charged to electric customers. The citizenry is shouldering the burden of a corrupt program. The ultimate result of C-BED will not be just more wind projects but will be more out-of state-owned wind projects. If a wind project cannot stand without an additional 2+ cents per kilowatt from rate payers, a wind project should not be built.

LET YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES KNOW YOU WANT AN INVESTIGATION NOW!

Use the following Senate Energy Committee addresses and those of your State Representatives and Congressmen to briefly express your concerns.

2011-2012 MN Senate Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee Membership

Committee Chair:
Sen. Julie A. Rosen
Telephone: 651-296-5713
E-mail Address: sen.julie.rosen@senate.mn

Vice Chair:
Sen. Michael J. Jungbauer
Telephone: 651-296-3733
E-mail Address: sen.mike.jungbauer@senate.mn

Majority Leader:
Sen. Amy T. Koch
Telephone: 651-296-5981
E-mail Address: sen.amy.koch@senate.mn

Asst. Majority Leader
Sen. Doug Magnus
Telephone 651-296-5650
E-mail Address: sen.doug.magnus@senate.mn

Sen. Michelle R. Benson
Telephone: 651-296-3219
E-mail Address: sen.michelle.benson@senate.mn

Sen. David M. Brown
Telephone: 651-296-8075
E-mail Address: sen.david.brown@senate.mn

Sen. D. Scott Dibble
Telephone: 651-296-4191
E-mail Address: sen.scott.dibble@senate.mn

Sen. John Sterling Howe
Telephone: 651-296-4264
E-mail Address: sen.john.howe@senate.mn

Sen. Gary W. Kubly
Telephone: 651-296-5094
E-mail Address: sen.gary.kubly@senate.mn

Sen. James P. Metzen
Telephone: 651-296-4370
E-mail Address: sen.jim.metzen@senate.mn

Sen. Dan Sparks
Telephone: 651-296-9248
E-mail Address: sen.daniel.sparks@senate.mn

Sen. LeRoy A. Stumpf
Telephone: 651-296-8660
Contact e-mail form on MN Senate website

Sen. Ray Vandeveer
Telephone: 651-296-4351
E-mail Address: sen.ray.vandeveer@senate.mn

Senate Staff Committee Administrator - Peder Mewis
Senate Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee
Office of State Sen. Julie Rosen
Telephone: 651-296-7593 (office)
FAX: 651-296-6511
E-mail: peder.mewis@senate.mn

Rep. Tim Kelly                      Rep. Steve Drazkowski
565 State Office                                                  401 State Office Building
100 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.                  100 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155-1206                                    St. Paul, MN 55155-1206
rep.tim.kelly@house.mn                  rep.steve.drazkowski@house.mn
home: P.O. Box 412                                              home: 1646 Cherry St. E.
Red Wing, MN 55066                                           Mazeppa, MN 55956

ONLY A FEW MISREPRESENTATIONS BY THE WIND COMPANIES

● Wind can take us off of fossil fuels. In reality, wind has nothing to do with the greatest use of fossil fuel. The greatest percentage of oil is used for transportation. A wind project has never shut down a gas, coal, or nuclear plant in our state. Electricity cannot be stored, and wind is not base load power. It is variable and expensive. Billions of dollars have been wasted in subsidies to wind companies.

● Your neighbors signed a contract, why don’t you? In the case of AWA Goodhue, some of the participants found out that their neighbors had NOT signed. Also, affidavits have been turned into the state record showing landowners had not signed in their land as was incorrectly indicated on AWA maps.

● All wind company maps are accurate and current. Original project maps had many missing homes. Haul route maps are changing. Turbine locations are changing. Maps in newspapers had mislabeled roads.

● There are no eagles in the footprint. DNR, USFWS, and citizens have confirmed many American Bald eagles in the AWA Goodhue footprint, eagle nests, and recently a reported siting of a rare Golden Eagle in Belle Creek Township. The National Eagle Center tracked a radio-banded Golden Eagle through Goodhue County last year. AWA Goodhue has not complied with any avian studies for the American Bald Eagle, rare Loggerhead Shrike, or bats to satisfy conditions for the state permit.

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INDUSTRIAL WIND WILL AFFECT YOU!! WAKE UP GOODHUE COUNTY RESIDENTS!

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REMINDER:
PLEASE ATTEND THE TOWN BOARD MEETINGS!

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