Powering the future

Dear Editor:

There is a tendency to oppose what we don’t know or understand. Or to fear change. And that is exactly what’s happening with the Broad Mountain Wind Project in Packer Township. I’ve been to several meetings and hearings over the last few weeks to learn more about this project. The project team even came into the lion’s den of Lake Hauto to present directly to the residents of our community and also some nonmembers. That says something about their commitment to inform neighbors.

Still, I’m surprised either by the continued misunderstanding of wind or downright refusal to accept some of the facts about this project specifically. Noise is not an issue. Period. I’ve stood under wind farms in my travels at home and abroad, and lived just a few hundred feet from them. The sound is entirely imperceptible. In Lake Hauto, you’d never hear the wind turbines over the trains that pass regularly, the lake concerts that blast on weekend nights, or the incessant noise generated by the recreational vehicles traversing the developments roads consistently violating several of the rules and regulations. Years ago, people fought the nearby cogeneration plant, saying it would destroy property values.

On the contrary, it came and property values have exponentially increased. Having several homes and properties in the area I can attest to this through receipts of my tax bills and observing properties purchased for several hundreds of thousands of dollars only to watch the homes on them being torn down to make way for newer and more expensive residences. It’s OK to be proud of our past in regards to energy production here. But that should not get in the way of us embracing our energy future, and the facts that support it.

Sincerely,

Joe Totani

Lake Hauto Club Member

Nesquehoning