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Farming Wind in Oregon

Posted by: Nate Berg

5 May 2009 - 10:00am

This segment form Oregon Public Broadcasting looks at the rise of wind farms in rural Oregon.

"Companies like GE and Seimens make turbines; the federal government offers utilities big financial incentives to build wind farms; and as Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, hundreds of windmills have gone up in Oregon alone."

"Gary Hackett: 'The land in Sherman County is basically dry land farming. And the population of the whole county is 1800 people. So the wind farm has brought tremendous opportunity to the area in the form of jobs, opportunities for folks to get a new career path and stay home.'"

"Plus, farmers can get $6,000 a year or more for each turbine. And while these truly are massive machines, their footprint is small -- about the size of a shed -- meaning farmers can still work the land."

"In an effort to reduce reliance on foreign oil -- and to battle climate change -- Oregon has told utilities that a quarter of their power needs to come from renewables by the year 2025."

Full Story: Wind Power: A Very Green But Very Intermittent Source Of Power
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, May 4, 2009
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The areas where we have severe blight and indications of more blight to come are basically the same as they ever were. How in the world are we ever going to move our community development selves into an alternative future that thinks differently about the challenges we face in our cities and low-income suburban and rural communities?
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