The Savior of the Heartland
by Blake Snortland

          The upper Midwest region of the United States is often called the heartland of America.  Just take a drive down I-94 in North Dakota, and you will see the prairie wind ripping across a virtual ocean of wheat, corn, and soybeans.  It's a beautiful landscape that is never seen by anyone who doesn't live there, and the number of people who do live there is decreasing at an alarming rate.  The fact of the matter is that farming is no longer a very profitable business in the northern plains states, and the farmers are getting out.  Whole townships in the northern plains are becoming ghost towns.  That fact saddens many locals because the heartland has always taken pride in delivering the basic necessity of food to America.  There's not much the average person can do about the price of wheat, but they do have other options.  That same wind that many farmers often curse is a raw, untapped energy source just waiting to be exploited.  Sometimes wind has been called the crop of the future.  It may be.  Energy is a basic necessity just like food.  Wind farms are the best means in which the northern plains states can stop the outflow of people because it provides safe energy, it provides more jobs, it reduces our dependency on depleting fossil fuel resources, and can help provide a secondary source of income for rural farms and communities.

          Wind energy is the safest, least intrusive form of energy available to the American public.  Solar power and hydropower are widely used throughout the United States.  However, these energy generating institutions take up valuable land area that could be used for other purposes.  In North Dakota, the damming of the Missouri river created Lake Sacagawea, which flooded large amounts of good farming land and forced the relocation of several Native American towns.  Solar power fields also take up space that could be better utilized.  There is another power source that can be utilized that can do the same job, but not hurt anyone or change the status of the land around it.  For the production of wind energy, large windmills are erected in a field which turn generators that, in turn, produce electricity.  However, the space between those windmills is still usable for whatever means is deemed necessary.  The American Wind Energy Association states, "Most existing land use, such as farming and ranching, would remain as it is now" (American). 

          Burning coal is the primary method of electricity production in America.  According to the American Wind Energy Association, the United States Government pays about 350 million dollars to coal miners who suffer from black lung disease (American).  The dust from the coal they mine is very hazardous to the health of the mine workers.  Wind energy can provide them jobs that will be much safer. 

          The downturn in the success of farming has sent many farmers out of business, and with the lack of successful farms and the jobs on those farms, the rural Midwest is losing population.  The need to create safe jobs is very apparent.  In the 2003 State Wind Working Handbook, published by U.S. Department of Energy, Steve Clemmer, senior energy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, states that, "[A current] wind turbine plant in ND [creates] 130 jobs [which is the same as] 20% of the lignite coal industry" (Energy 104).  With the construction of towers alone creating 20 percent of the jobs needed to match the coal industry, wind energy can create safe jobs to keep people in the rural Midwest to seek employment elsewhere.  Larry Flowers, representative for Wind Powering America, estimates that the construction of wind farms and their components creates, "1-2 jobs/megawatt during construction, [and] 2-5 permanent operation and maintenance jobs per 50-100 megawatts" (Flowers).  Additional jobs in the area helps keep people from moving out of state to find work.  It may even bring work into parts of rural America.  Another good aspect of wind power is that it creates additional revenue for more people than just its employees.

          Land used for wind energy operation is often rented from private owners, usually farmers or ranchers.  While the farmer or rancher still maintains use of most of the land, they also receive, according to Steve Clemmer of the Union of Concerned Scientists, "Given typical wind turbine spacing requirements, a 250-acre farm could increase annual farm income by $14,000 per year" (Energy 96).  So, at no extra cost to the land owner, and with minimal usable land loss, that owner can continue to use the land for whatever he/she sees fit, and gain a sizeable bonus income. 

          Another benefit of rural wind power is the taxes it pays to local communities.  Steve Clemmer again states, "[...] payments generally range from 1% to 3% of the project's value.  At 1%, property tax payments would provide approximately $10,000 per megawatt of installed wind capacity for rural communities each year" (Energy 97).  So, the extra income for rural communities can be used to improve schools, roads, bridges, or other public works.  However, not everyone sees the long term benefits of wind energy.
          Ed DeMao of RECS, Inc. and Brian Pearsons of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have compiled a list of the most common misconceptions about wind power.  Some of these misconceptions are, "Wind is unreliable.  100% backup facilities will be required to prevent power outages; [...]Wind energy is more expensive than conventional energy.  Wind energy needs tax credits to be equitable; [...]New natural gas plants will provide cheaper energy than wind; [...]Current transmission lines cannot handle the addition of new wind power plants to the grid; [...]Wind turbines kill birds and thus have serious environmental impacts; Wind turbines create loud and obstructive noise" (DeMao 1-5).  These reasons are used by opponents of wind energy, such as oil and coal companies, to discredit wind power as a viable source of power.  However, these reasons are untrue and misleading.  While the wind may be unreliable, the entire power system is designed to handle the loss of a power station.  Wind energy may not be the best primary power source, but it can be a wonderful supplementary source to help lower costs.  While it is true that wind power gets a tax subsidy for the first 10 years, this is comparable to the benefits that other, more conventional power systems receive.  So, the impact of a tax credit is negligible.  The current price of petroleum in the world makes the likelihood of natural gas being cheaper than wind energy slim.  Until fossil fuel prices decrease, wind power will be cheaper.  Current transmission lines across the country may be unable to handle more power in some areas, but others aren't using the full capacity of the lines.  Very large scale projects may need additional transmission lines, but smaller projects will fit in nicely.  The only location that bird deaths has caused a problem is in Altamont Pass in California.  Since the development of this site, the wind community has learned enough about turbine placement to negate concerns about the safety of birds.  Finally, independent studies have shown, at 500-700 yards from a turbine, the distance they are required to be placed away from homes, they are no louder than a refrigerator.

          So, to surmise, wind energy is a viable solution to a great variety of problems.  Even though it may not be the most reliable energy source, it is the safest, least intrusive form of energy available to Americans, it creates jobs and generates tax income, it provides 'free' income for owners of rented wind turbine land, and it overcomes all criticism of its validity.  Wind power is a proven, effective way to generate power, that will be cheaper than conventional energy in the long run. 

          The pollution of the environment by conventional power sources needs to stop.  By utilizing various forms of power from wind power, to solar power, to hydropower America can become self sufficient and completely free itself from the need for foreign oil.  The time is now to save the environment before it is too late.  Rural America can save itself.  It just needs to get on the ball.

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Works Cited

American Wind Energy Association.  "Mr. Schleede and the Wind" . January 28, 2003.

          www.awea.com

DeMeo, Ed and Brian Parsons.  "Some Common Misconceptions about Wind Power "All States Wind Summit, Austin, Texas.  May 22, 2003.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind and Hydropower Technologies.  State Wind           Working Group Handbook.  August 2003.