Property values in MonTICELLO are depressed. Shadows are flickering. Ice is falling. A crowd in an agricultural community in central Illinois hung on every word of a real estate appraisal that said wind farms were bad for the environment.
A tiny town debated the merits of a proposed industrial wind farm that would see dozens of enormous turbine rise from the nearby soybean and corn fields. There were many more hearings to come.
There is a cattle farmer who is opposed to the project. People don't want to be here.
In the fight against global warming, the federal government is pumping a record $370 billion into clean energy, and many states and utilities plan to ramp up wind and solar power.
In town halls, county courthouses and community buildings across the country, the future of the American power grid is being decided.
If rural communities can be persuaded to embrace renewable energy projects, Mr. Biden will be able to meet his goals. There are lots of them
In order to run the economy on solar, wind, nuclear or other forms of nonpolluting energy, the United States would need to build more than 6,000 projects.
A developer of wind and solar farms based in Virginia wants to build a wind farm in Piatt County. In an effort to win over the community, the company donated to the mental health center and the 4-H club.
The county board will make a final decision on whether or not to allow the project after thezoning board makes a recommendation. The 34,000 acres of farmland would be covered by the 610 feet tall turbine.
About 100,000 homes are expected to be powered by the 300megawatt project. The renewable, carbon-free electricity would help power a grid that currently is fed by nuclear, natural gas, coal, and some existing wind turbine.
Resistance is growing in rural communities in the Great Plains and Midwest as more and more renewable energy projects are being built.
"To meet any kind of clean energy goals which bring consumer benefits and energy independence, you're going to see an increase in projects." We are facing more challenges as a result of the increases in projects.
On Election Day last month, voters in Crawford County overwhelmingly voted to uphold a ban on wind farms and other similar projects. Voters in Michigan rejected a proposal to allow construction of another wind project. Monroe County, Mich., extended a temporary moratorium on industrial solar projects earlier this month, which delayed the development of a solar farm in the area.
There is an agreement about the nature of flora and fauna. A sweeping United Nations agreement to protect 30 percent of the planet's land and oceans by 2030 was approved by delegates at a meeting in Canada. The agreement comes at a time when the world's population is decreasing at an unprecedented rate.
The beginning of a new era? A group of scientists took a step towards declaring a new interval of geological time called the Anthropocene. The previous geologic period was brought to a close because of humankind's effects on the planet, according to the amended timelines.
A small nation is making diplomatic moves. The nation of Vanuatu has a population of over 300,000 people. The president wants the International Court of Justice to weigh in on whether nations are legally bound to protect themselves against climate risks.
There is a transition to renewable energy. According to the International Energy Agency, there will be double the amount of renewable power in the world in the next five years. Coal is expected to be the biggest source of electricity generation by early 2025, according to the agency.
Sarah Mills is a lecturer at the University of Michigan who studies renewable development in the Midwest. There are low hanging fruit places.
The board decided to conduct a mock trial. During the first nine hearings, Apex and its witnesses made the case that property values would not decline and that other concerns about wind farms were not major issues.
They got some people to convert. After considering how the project would help fight climate change, Meg Miner decided to support the project.
Some were concerned about all the issues that the real estate appraisal mentioned. Sandy said she moved to the area for nature, trees, and crops. I don't want to live near a wind farm.
Community members who weren't sold on the project's merits appeared to be the most skeptical. There was a misinformation campaign about wind energy.
Save Piatt County!'s website is rife with misinformation about renewable energy and climate science. On Facebook pages, residents opposed to the project shared negative stories about wind power, a tactic that has been used by anti-wind activists in the past. The organizers of the websites did not reply to questions.
The commitment from Rivian, an electric truck company, to buy power from the project drew skepticism from one Facebook group. One local resident wrote that scam artists in it together to fleece middle class taxpayers. It's time to wake up.
Some residents seemed to be swayed by the misinformation.
Kelly Vetter, a retiree who opposed the project, disputed the overwhelming scientific consensus that carbon dioxide emitted from the burning of fossil fuels is dangerously warming the planet. The company won't have the community's interest in mind.
The company didn't comment.
Smack in the middle of the area where Apex wants to erect its turbine sits the Bragg family's farm, a roughly 1,500 acre plot that on a cold December afternoon was little more than an expanse of mud.
The project is supported by a man who grew up on the land and went to the Peace Corps. He sees the effects of climate change and is worried about it.
His support for wind is dependent on the economy. If a turbine is built on Mr. Bragg's property, he will make about $50,000 a year.
He said that it would not allow him to retire. You know what you will get when you have that steady income.
Another multi-generational operation is a few miles away. Ms. Gallagher is like Mr. Bragg in her belief in climate change. She has invested in cover crops, which absorb carbon and keep it out of the soil.
She is against the project. She will have to pay more for cover crops because of the wind turbine close by. The use of heavy equipment to install turbines can disrupt drainage patterns on her farm.
She's frustrated by the fact that most of the land owners who agreed to allow Apex to put turbine on their property live outside of Piatt County.
They don't live here so they're not impacted by it.
She doesn't like the idea of the wind turbine disrupting the land she loves. She walks outside in the predawn hours and listens to crickets, which she fears will be drowned out by the wind turbine. She doesn't want the view of a grain silo to be ruined by spinning turbine and flashing lights at night.
She said that everyone wants what's good for society. It seems to be at the expense of our daily lives.
He was sympathetic. He said that the only valid argument was that it would change peoples' sunsets and the beauty of living out in the country.
He said that it was his right to use the land for productive purposes.
There isn't much I can do about a nice country house being in the middle of my business. If they were in my boat, they would do the same thing. Everything is taken over by the economics.
The Braggs would receive $210 million in lease payments over the course of 30 years. $90 million in local taxes is an economic benefit. Brendan Burton is one of eight permanent jobs the company said it would create if the project is built.
Mr. Burton is an ironworker who has helped build several nearby wind farms.
He said that they are not building things the way they used to. The jobs are needed.
Mr. Burton wants his community to contribute clean energy to the grid.
He said that we can't keep burning coal.
In Piatt County, the debate has been civil. Hearings have turned into shouting matches. Activists with ties to organizations that protect their donors have turned against wind and solar projects.
Monroe County, Mich., recently extended a moratorium that is blocking the development of a solar project.
Local residents, as well as anti-wind activists with ties to groups supported by Koch Industries, are part of the opposition inMonroe County. Negative stories about solar power were shared on Facebook by those who were skeptical of the project.
On another cold night in December, as the 11th hearing on the Goose Creek Wind project began at the Monticello community building, Phil Luetkehans, a lawyer hired by opponents of the project, called more witnesses, including an audiologist. The hearing lasted for more than four hours.
The people who will make the final decisions are the ones who get a full opportunity to portray their position. Some communities don't want an industrial scale wind at this location. Some people say they want the money.
Michael Beem, a newly elected member of the Piatt County board, was among those in the audience. The back of the room was where Mr. Beem was going to make his decision.
He said that they were going to make people angry regardless of what decision they made.
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