Recently, a letter to the editor was sent to the Edina Sentinel raising concerns regarding the GPS coordinates that were submitted to the FAA for the project in Knox County. We wrote about these coordinates in a previous blog. A project that Tenaska has deemed "Northeast Missouri Wind." How many meetings do you think that took? 🤔
Anyway, we digress...
Well, Tenaska had to write a rebuttal. We knew it was coming. Not only has Tenaska been watching us, but we know the wind energy playbook at this point.
We see you Tenaska:
Here is what they had to say:
Let's discuss, shall we?
First of all, Tenaska's representative mentions that they have leased over 29,000 acres of land in Knox County. This intrigues us. We have been able to verify documents that account for 24,000 acres of this. Though we still continue to look, we wonder where the leases for these other 5,000 plus acres are. We will share these names and tracts of land once we have this list compiled. What we find most interesting regarding this list, of the 24,000 acres with signatures we have compiled thus far, it only accounts for LESS THAN 1.5% of the total population of Knox County. Why such a small number? Over half of those signatures are absentee landowners. This means, they DO NOT live in Knox County. So, the people making these decisions will NOT be affected by their decisions.
Secondly, Mr. Monte Ten Kley, do you have anything other than money to sway the people of Knox County? No, you do not. It's all you have. We can admit, its a powerful thing, but throughout your response, you fail to address any of the other concerns raised in the Letter to the Editor that you reference. Also, to reiterate, a majority of these landowners seeking to "diversify their income" do not live in Knox County. Does not seem like a very accurate representation of landowners or residents of Knox County.
Third, your concerns for local wildlife are laughable. Knox County is home to maternity colonies of endangered bats, same as Schuyler and Adair Counties. We know, this will not stop the project. The High Prairie project was built despite the presence of these maternity colonies and we have had extensive conversations with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service verify such things.
Furthermore, the map created with the GPS coordinates that Tenaska submitted is labeled as "proposed" and "currently listed as 675 feet" This wording leaves room for the idea that they may not all be approved, they may not all be utilized and they may not be that tall. However, what we learned from the High Prairie project was that ONLY nine of the original turbines were moved and this was not until after construction began. Based on the lease agreements we have obtained and mapped on a plat map of Knox County, these GPS coordinates appear to be a fairly accurate representation of what the people of Knox County can expect.
Finally, we know you do not have the right to eminent domain, unfortunately, you state this fact like you are not imposing. You may not have the right to eminent domain, but you do impose, you do destroy, you do trespass and you do so without any regard for the people you leave in your wake. As those who live within the footprint of the High Prairie project have been told and learned the hard way, those nonparticipants, those residents, become collateral damage for a FEW landowners to put change in their pockets and a large corporation to make billions of dollars.
You have not seen the last of us.