Yeah!  Go ahead and have your little meetings, write some letters.  Heck, you can even call and leave a message if you want!

But here’s the message for you private citizen pipsqueaks and local yokel politicians, “the state of Minnesota has the final say!”  So, whatcha got to say for yourself now Mower County?   “County Coordinator Craig Oscarson says, “the state is the permitting authority for the wind farm itself. So, I know some of our commissioners will attend because they represent that area, and are interested in this. But we really don’t have any say whether its permitted or not.”  So there!

I know a lot of you folks like these wind farms but for those of you NIMBYs out there who don’t, here’s how it’s going to be: the Pleasant Valley Wind Company, a subsidiary of Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc., is going to plop a 300 megawatt wind plant of some 130 to 200 turbines and they’re going to use up 70,000 acres to get it done … so shut up!

Oh, yeah … don’t even think about asking about how much electricity they will actually produce, how many full time jobs will remain, how many tons of greenhouse gases they will reduce, how many coal plants they’ll close or how much of your tax money they’ll pick up on the way out of town.  That’s none of your business either!

Any questions?

Oh, by the way … it’s pretty much the same way over here in West Virginia, but we’re used to it.  Politicians have been giving our resources away for decades.