I am one of the residents of the San Miguel valley in New Mexico where the company Invenergy is looking into locating industrial-size turbines (HCN, 2/16/09). My neighbors and I have been researching the impact of the wind industry, and many of us are concluding that in the push for renewables, it is preferable to support decentralized green energy, where the stimulus funds go to individuals and communities for renewable projects. When the money goes to big corporations, we perpetuate the system of the big oil companies, where they can set prices at our expense, using our tax dollars. We need to move towards less use of the grid, and we need to avoid building controversial transmission lines. Big wind farms imposed on rural communities are detrimental to the health and well-being of the people who live nearby. Local projects create more local jobs.

Irene Wachtel
Ribera, New Mexico