We were in the middle of writing a blog related to taxes (which is still coming) when we were shown this Kirksville Daily Express article. To say that it infuriated us is an understatement. Does anyone investigate statements anymore or are we at the point where we just take the word of large corporations and corrupted individuals as fact?
Let's debunk, shall we?
The article starts by stating that "Those turbines can produce enough energy to power 120,000 homes." Well, no matter how we do the math, we cannot get to 120,000 homes. Is this 120,000 home in a year? In a month? Over the lifetime of the project? Why is it open-ended? We worked to figure out how many homes the High Prairie project may "power" in one year. The most frequent number we arrived at was 642 home PER YEAR. The largest number we arrived at was 7,700 homes PER YEAR. You can attempt to figure this out for yourself by looking here, here, here and here. Further still, what capacity factor did Ameren use to get to this number? We used a capacity factor of 35% as this is the average capacity factor of all the wind turbines in the United States. Further, what wind speed did Ameren use to make this calculation? The wind turbines in the High Prairie project need a consistent wind speed of 22 to 36 mph to produce their full capacity. Our average wind speeds are approximately 16 mph (we are being generous). Make sure you remember that the wind does NOT always blow and wind speeds are variable throughout the day. This makes wind energy unreliable, unpredictable and non-dispatchable. This "120,000 home" number is a farce. We would LOVE to see Ameren's calculation.
Let's move on, we are going to be here awhile...
The article goes on to quote Ameren Missouri’s Chief Renewable Development Officer Ajay Arora, "We know now that the technology works, we know it’s reliable, we know it’s affordable..." It works? It is affordable? Wind energy does not work. As mentioned above it has a 35% capacity factor, how is this working? The turbines in the High Prairie project are also off for 12 hours at night (that's another blog). Whose homes are they powering then? The most laughable part though is Mr. Arora attempting to use the word "affordable." Nothing about wind energy is affordable, other than maybe for the company and the millions of dollars of tax credits they plan to receive (you can read about this in the Missouri Public Service Commission Docket EA-2018-0202). Also, IS NO ONE PAYING ATTENTION?! Ameren just submitted a rate increase to the Public Service Commission asking for a 12% INCREASE in their electric rates AFTER purchasing these two wind projects (Docket EA-2021-0240). Again, what about that is affordable? They are not the first company to do this, many utility companies over the past few years have submitted rate increases due to the cost of infrastructure for renewable projects, you can see that here, here, here, here and here. Representatives of Ameren have admitted this in the past, Tim Fox stated, "We're neutral on this particular ballot proposal, but our concern is that renewable energy mandates could lead to significantly higher costs for our customers in the future." Further, Germany, which is the "world leader" in wind has astronomical eclectic rates. Sounds to us like energy poverty is headed for Ameren's customers, nothing affordable about that.
This section concerns us beyond words, "The High Prairie farm is currently the largest in Missouri, covering more than 60,000 acres. It can produce 400 megawatts of power and the Atchison site should produce 300. That’s 700 megawatts of Ameren’s goal of 5,400 over the next few decades. The company plans to spend another $4.5 billion in renewable energy sources by 2030, which Arora said should be a fairly equal split between wind and solar." We are aware of these potential projects: a wind project in Knox County; a wind project in Audrain County; a wind project in Boone and Howard Counties; a solar project in Adair County as well as many others. This is terrifying for rural Missouri.
We will help anyone that wants help to fight these projects. Stop destroying rural America for corporate financial gain.
"It has been performing as designed,” Arora said.
This comment from Mr. Arora was more than we needed to read. This is similar to comments that have been made to those that live within the footprint of the High Prairie project and have brought forward complaints regarding the noise these turbines emit. The turbines are "operating as designed." Yes, we are well aware that the design of the wind turbines are a failure and they have been sited too close to homes.
The article continues, "Even in cold temperatures, the turbines are winterized to work in that weather. When most of the country dealt with severe winter weather in February and energy grids were maxed out, Arora said the High Prairie turbines still generated enough power. Most of the power issues in Missouri came from freezing with natural gas pipelines. That was also the case in Texas. There were several errors at play in Texas, along with their turbines not being winterized, but Arora said that is not the case here." We have seen this narrative pushed too much by utilities and wind companies. The truth of the matter is that in Texas over $60 billion (that is Billion with a "B") was spent on wind energy infrastructure. So much was put toward wind energy that the infrastructure of the natural gas plants was not upgraded to be able to handle a catastrophic event. Wind played a huge role in the failure of the Texas grid. You don't believe us?
You can check out the Power Hungry Podcast:
Or you can read about this:
We could post numerous articles about this, we recommend you do some research and while you are at it, look at how the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) operated during the February cold blast. Stop believing the propaganda.
Then, it all comes back to the money, the taxes (which we plan to cover soon). Ms. Chrisman with K-REDI is always ready to run her mouth. What she always fails to mention is that she signed a lease for the High Prairie project, conflicted much? "Chrisman said she has had multiple farmers tell her they retired because the land lease payments were enough to get them by, with a relative taking over the farm business." Who are these farmers and land owners? As people who live within the footprint of the project, we have yet to run across any of these people.
The article further states, "Another boost goes to local schools, with districts in Adair and Schuyler estimated to receive $1.2 million in annual tax revenues." First of all Chrisman, neither county has received any tax dollars from the High Prairie project yet (other than some new construction tax dollar from Terra-Gen). Secondly, we do not know that number. These numbers that have been spread around for the past two years are based on...what? Until these companies have written checks, we will not be taking their word for it.
Our biggest point of all this, do your OWN RESEARCH. Remember, that Ameren has a bottom line to protect, so they are going to paint the prettiest picture they can. What the article fails to discuss is what it is actually like to live within the footprint of the High Prairie project. How about the destruction of our roads, or the significant alteration of our landscape or the incessant noise? To name a few.
Just Stop.