The environmental and economic impact of one downed turbine cannot be overstated, but one Iowa farm is reeling from the destruction caused by three downed turbines, in a span of less than 18 months.

Here are the details, from a report published by a local outlet:

A farm in Mechanicsville must clean up its third wind turbine fire in less than a year and a half.

Lightning strikes caused all three.

Now the farm’s owners are trying to figure out what’s next.

A Cedar County ordinance requires wind turbines that aren’t producing energy must be taken down within the year.

While the turbine’s owners have to take care of that, the damage left behind is the responsibility of the land owner.

According to the farmers, the turbine fires have left literal tons of debris (wires and fiberglass), scattered across the (corn) crop and soil, meaning the produce is unsellable and so are the corn stalks used for animal bedding, and the land is severely compromised; they’re also concerned about the detritus becoming caught up in farming equipment, destroying it too. All in all, the damage is estimated to be in the millions, affecting “at least 1,000 acres” of farmland.

Now, my heart truly goes out to this family, because this is their livelihood—however, not only do I take issue with the growing presence of wind turbines because of their environmental impacts and how much they’re costing the American taxpayers (like myself) in subsidies, but I also take issue with farm owner Sally Freeman’s response:

Freeman said she isn’t against wind energy, but she said there needs to be legislation to speed up the cleanup process.

After the second turbine caught fire in May of this year, Freeman’s father said that the turbine leasing income had always been a “good” deal—I didn’t see any of that income though, so why would I foot the bill for disastrous consequences when it all goes south? If Freeman and her family choose to cash-in on handouts, then they’re assuming the risk, right? I mean, that’s what more “legislation” means.

I hate to be insensitive, but they’re the ones who leased out their land, trying to make a buck on a faulty product—information on the limitations of turbines isn’t exactly a secret—so why should I as a taxpayer be on the hook? It’s tragic, and I absolutely regret all the damage done, but again, why does that warrant using the government to compel me, or any other uninvolved party, to pay for the fallout? Because of course that’s who always pays when there’s new “legislation,” in one way or another. The taxpayer always loses, even more so when the industry is an integral part of the progressive “agenda” and is already so heavily subsidized. For reference, this is from the industry itself, encouraging wind turbine infrastructure:

State subsidies for wind power are equally generous and can often be combined with Federal programs resulting, in some instances, in government funding equivalent to 80% of a wind power system’s total cost.

No one would argue that socialists aren’t “generous” with other people’s money, but that’s not real generosity, and this progressive wind turbine agenda needs to die a quick and painful death, for everyone’s sake.

Image generated by AI.