We have over 20 turbines on the land we farm, as well as some land in a solar project just two miles west of here. Because of the income, I was able to expand my farm’s operations, and I have my own tiling firm, which employs people from the county. These renewable projects have brought a lot of money into this community. This, frankly, has been the best opportunity we have had in 30 years.

After retiring from the military, I wanted to do something purposeful, and that’s when I started farming. There’s a lot to do on the farm, and having solar energy would make our work sustainable and affordable. We have looked into solar energy projects for our farm and would like to see the process be more accessible for everyone, especially for landowners like us. Having access to solar projects would mean access to resources for ourselves and others.

I am a BIG advocate for renewable energy due to seeing some of the devastation from fossil fuel and non renewable energies in my town and towns like mine. I would love to see communities like my own to thrive more economically as a result of using renewable energy that also combats the devastation from non-renewable sources like fossil fuel.

We love living off-grid, reliant on solar and wind power. It’s gratifying to live off of clean energy and to know our day-to-day activities are not contributing to fossil fuel extraction. We graze our sheep, cattle, poultry, and horses around our solar array and it’s integrated into the pastures. It doesn’t interfere with the grazing management, and we can still operate and rotationally graze as usual.

I am a fifth-generation owner of the White Family Farm, which is on land that has been owned by our family for over 150 years. I am an active community member and serve on our town board, and I consider myself to be very supportive of renewable energy and the importance of supporting farmers in this process. I plan on having wind turbines installed on my property, which we will be able to continue to farm around and will serve our next generation, and hopefully generations to come.

We’ve had wind in this area for around 15 years now. When it was first coming up, everyone acted like the sky was falling. After only a year of them being around, nobody was bothered by it. It’s the same thing with solar. In reality there’s nothing wrong with solar. Nothing is going to leach into the soil, my agronomist said my corn will grow back as it always did, plus you’re letting the soil rest. I see no downside aside from the way it looks. If you don’t like the looks of it, that’s fine, but I’m a strong advocate for my land.
I look at what I should be doing for my grandkids, and that’s part of why I signed onto this solar project. Renewables are absolutely part of the solution, I understand the value of wind and was on the town board when that project began. With these projects investing in the communities, we can do all kinds of things we weren’t able to do before.

We were approached a few years ago. There was already a wind farm nearby so we knew what the companies did, plus we’re friends with a farmer who put turbines on his land and he had nothing but good things to say about it. So we looked into it and thought that it would be a chance for us to diversify a little bit and have another source of income that we can rely on when commodity prices are down. It doesn’t take up all your land, so you’re able to keep farming. There’s another farmer in the area that really pushed for this project, and I’m friends with him. I respect him and trust him, and we talked about navigating the contract together.
The developers would pay for crop damage while they were building and they would pay for over and underground transmission lines, plus royalties. They give money to the townships to repair roads and the township could use new roads around here. I feel like the company is giving back to the community.

We are a sugar bush maple farm and rent out our crop fields for corn and beans. We were approached back in 2019 to install two wind turbines on our farm with RWE and were offered a seven year development contract. However, because there was so much pushback from the community, they put the project on hold. Our children have not expressed interest in carrying on the farm, so we were looking forward to having the opportunity to have those wind energy funds in our retirement. These funds would have gone a long way towards making our retirement comfortable.
The township has now done significant rezoning and passed a lot of restrictions, so it does not look like it will be completed. It seems like the loudest voices of opposition were the smaller landowners, while the larger landowners and farmers were supportive of the project. People complain about the sound of the wind turbines, but I’ve stood right beneath them before and only heard small whoosh sounds. The loudest they can be by law at our residence is about 70 decibels, which is no louder than our speaking voice. Of course, when there is a lot of wind, there is a lot of other noises occurring as well. The sound is a nonissue.
Historically, windmills have always been a part of the farm. This is a private property issue, and ultimately, a part of the right to farm.

My name is Brian Toay, I live in Waldwick Wisconsin, have owned property there since 2005, and my family chose to install wind turbines on our property. We chose to move forward with this because it as an opportunity to diversify our farm income and help support our family. The reason I support sustainable energy is because it’s good for the neighbors, it’s good for the community and it’s good for the environment.
I graduated from Purdue University in agricultural finance and I was in agriculture sales for over forty years. I’ve seen the positive results of sustainable energy. It’s done great things for actual farmers in terms of finances and being able to continue to farm. Our wind project is something that I think will be good for our land in terms of access roads and helping eliminate impact on our soil. Dealing with the wind project was very easy. We were encouraged by the developer to have our attorneys review the contract and they agreed to the changes. So it was a win-win for my family and the project.
The reason we need more wind and solar projects is because of the demands that this country is going to need in the near future with the advent of AI and data collection. It is necessary that we need something that is healthy for the people and healthy for the environment.