comments from deltabravo:
This article fails to mention many things, including:
The Latigo wind complex was not deemed viable until many years after the purchase of the 80 acres by the current landowners.
No land owners worked for Wasatch Wind, LLC until after the 80 acres were under contract -- years before new technology permitted consideration of the low wind yields near Monticello. Wasatch Wind, LLC, with its employee records, multiple witness accounts and former Wasatch Wind, LLC management verifies these facts. Wasatch Wind International, not to be confused with Wasatch Wind,LLC, was comprised of one person company that became interested in selling this Latigo wind project but failed to conduct disciplined due diligence.
Several of the 80 acre owners / taxpaying citizens live in San Juan County and / or were raised in San Juan County. Fourteen of the 17 owners have long-time close family ties in the area.
Land owners did not build residences on the 80 acres due to the contract Wasatch Wind International sought.
The "millions" of San Juan County tax revenue now being claimed by sPower should be verified. (Similar claims of "millions" were made until that talk turned out to be about $250,000 total, over 20 years. In fact, in 2012 the wind complex's attorney admitted property values in Monticello would drop by 13% due to the presence of the towers. What are the gains and losses with this wind project? Will property taxes fall when property values fall?)
The 50 to 100 sPower jobs will only last 3 - 4 months. Only 1-2 jobs may remain past the project completion.
The "donut hole" land owners prefer not to sell their properties and hopes sPower finds its wind energy further out from Monticello and / or away from other tax payers'.
To date, sPower has not offered the minimum per acre price for the 80 acres - despite 1) a price that was agreed to by all interested parties more than two years ago or 2) since receiving a June, 2015 Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) of SOLD properties--as conducted by a neutral, reputable, established Monticello area real company.
There will not ever be a tax base of residential properties and / or low profile, clean business development in the northern corridor of the City as long as this wind complex operates there.
Who will pay for the removal of the turbines when technologies change and render the federally tax supported turbines obsolete?
The dangerous ice throw, over-spin blade explosions and decibel encompass much the land owners' properties, especially with sPower new wind complex plans
If sPowers has a willingness to deploy "dark skies" technology, as once promoted by Wasatch Wind Internationsl, to minimize light pollution?
How 360 views of 27 499 ft tall engineered turbines may be "elegant" to some people but the turbines are not more elegant than Nature's engineering of the views of the Blue Mountain or the La Platas.
etc.
When corporate interests ask for so much, they should give back accordingly. The 80 acre land owners' property values and intended use will be totally destroyed. Asking the right questions now and being faithful to the CUP process could stop what is otherwise corporate bullying and may help prevent other San Juan County and Monticello area residents from losing as much or as the 80 acre land owners.