The factor that is never brought up is the cost to "decommission" the wind turbines at the end of life cycle. When they first started building wind farms, they said the life expectancy of the turbines was 30 years. It now is being downgraded to 20-22 years - almost a 1/3 reduction. The estimated cost to remove the old units ranges from $250K to $450K for EACH unit. That still leaves 2500 to 3000 TONS of concrete and 900 tons of steel reinforcement, and 45 tons of plastic in the ground for the obsolete base -- which is there forever. The profitability of the turbines is based on a combination of federal and state tax abatements and subsidies. They can't show a profit unless they don't have to pay the same property taxes as other businesses. All of the units that are already in existence will not be rebuilt/replaced when they have reached the end of their lifespan unless they continue to get that tax abatement. If they are told they will not get it, then they will certainly not spend the money to take them down, and will walk away and leave the landowners who leased the land to them to deal with them. What landowner is going to be able to come up with several million dollars to have even 5 or 6 of them taken down on their property when that happens? The company that owns them will simply file a bankruptcy petition and walk away if they cannot operate them profitably in the future.
Our County has just blocked them after we discovered they had already had agents operating in the area who had leased up over 2000 acres for building sites and right of ways without notifying any County officials. At the urging of individuals and City Councils, that passed resolutions requesting the County Commissioners to deny tax abatements, it looks like they will not pursue the issue. In addition to the monetary cost to the County, the land values in Counties with scenic landscapes is greatly impacted. The Turbine companies like areas with lots of hills and ridges to place the turbines where they will catch more wind. Those hills and ridges are the places that most people moving into those area want to build their homes because of the scenic views.