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Wind power’s meant to be clean, green and safe as houses, but these things have a habit of hurling deadly chunks of ice at people, family homes and, in one recent case, through the roof of a College in the US: Deadly Cool: Wind Turbine Throws Ice Chunks Into US College

We’d only just reported on the frozen and potentially lethal chunk lobbed at College Students in Gardner, Massachusetts, when yet another report of ice being slung from turbine blades appeared. This time it’s a truck and its driver that turned into a frightening form of renewable ‘targets’.

Turbines temporarily shut down after ice strikes semi

Albert Tribune

Sam Wilmes

23 February 2018

Alliant Energy shut down some of its turbines in Bent Tree Wind Farm after ice from a turbine struck a semi Thursday on Minnesota Highway 13.

The turbines were described by Alliant Energy Spokesman Justin Foss as “select turbines” near Highway 13. The turbines are expected to be inspected this morning as an investigation takes place.

Foss, who said such incidents are not common, noted part of the reason why the turbines were temporarily shut down was to give Freeborn County residents who are sensitive to wind an extra sense that they are investigating.

Goodhue County resident Marie McNamara said she and a friend were heading home from an evidentiary hearing for the Freeborn Wind Farm Thursday when they received a call from a passerby in the area that ice had struck a vehicle.

McNamara said turbines encounter more problems the older they get, so sufficient distances between turbines and highways and homes are needed. She called Minnesota setback standards “insufficient.”

Alberta Tribune

Alliant Energy’s spin doctor, Justin Foss reckons ice throw ‘incidents are not common’. Well, he would say that, now wouldn’t he. Trouble is that the number of incidents keeps mounting, and sites like STT keep reporting them. Which is why locals are justifiably terrified of being knocked out of the game by the whirling wonders next door:

Falling Ice From Wind Turbine Worries Family Near Proposed Project

ABC 6 News

Logan Reigstad

26 February 2018

Days, after several Freeborn County wind turbines had to be shut down after a chunk of ice, flew off a blade and struck a passing semi truck, a family whose home lies within feet of the proposed Freeborn Wind Farm project said they’re concerned about something similar happening at their home.

Jacob Schumacher and his family, including kids Josey and James, moved to their home in rural Freeborn County in October 2015. They knew there were some plans regarding a wind farm in the area but said they didn’t think the project would come to fruition so soon.

Now, Schumacher said they could be looking at a nearly 500-foot-tall turbine about a quarter-mile from their front door.

“So we walk out our door and straight in front of our house is where the turbine is scheduled to be,” he said. The turbine would sit just off his property but adjacent to where they keep their animals, including cattle and horses. After hearing about the falling ice, he said he’s more concerned about his family’s well-being.

“I don’t know how close that one was to the road, but I fear it can’t be a whole lot farther away than what this one is going to be from my property,” Schumacher said. “My kids, if they go out into the pasture, riding their horses on a day like today, can that ice be coming off, can we be putting our family in danger?”

Schumacher also said he worries about the noise at night, which could further upset both his and his wife’s insomnia. Like other homeowners in the area, he said he expects to also lose value on their home if the project is approved.

Thomas Martinez, a DFL candidate for state district 27A currently represented by Republican Peggy Bennett, said he’s in favor of green energy to combat climate change and boost the local economy. That being said, he said he empathizes with those who have concerns about the project, which would see nearly 100 turbines spread across Freeborn County as well as neighboring Worth County in Iowa.

“They need to have their grievances addressed, but to derail a multimillion-dollar company from Albert Lea again is not something we should do,” he said.

Schumacher isn’t opposed to green energy, either– he worked in the industry for years. In this case, though, he said the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

“I’m sorry but […] there’s no amount of money that’s enough comfort for my kids being put in harm’s way,” he said.

The portion of the wind farm in Iowa has already been approved, while the portion on the Minnesota side of the border is still being considered by the state’s Public Utilities Commission. At a public hearing in Albert Lea Tuesday, Rich Davis from the Minnesota Department of Commerce said a decision about whether to approve the permits for the project could come in June or July.

ABC6 News