Industrial Wind Turbines take approximately 1.5 – 3 acres of farm ground out of production per turbine. Even when restored after the turbine has been decommissioned, its ability to produce high quality harvest will be diminished forever. Imagine how many acres will go out of production for a 250 turbine installation? Include substations, underground cabling, and soil that is compromised by compaction of 400 foot tall cranes and staging, and the yield losses can be considerable and will extend far beyond the relatively short life of the turbine project.
A Fond Du Lac Farmer has regrets about agreeing to host a wind turbine-- Why can't he speak openly about it? click the image to read the article
Industrial wind developers have claimed that construction of industrial wind turbines on agricultural land will not interfere with the tax benefits farmer’s receive from PA 116. However, the State of Michigan has not reached a final decision on that issue. Instead, this matter is still under consideration by the State, as evidenced by the “Draft” stamp on the PA 116 Amendment in the link below:
State of Michigan Farmland Development
Images of Farmland Destruction from Ohio site