(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Big Wind came calling Looking for others experiences

B

big jt

Well-known Member
Hey all

Sorry for this being a bit off topic but I figured there is a treasure trove of experiences here to ask from.

Got a visit from a couple of front men from Invenergy wind. Wanting to put up a wind farm on and or around my place. They talked some nice numbers but I always get a bit nervous when guys talk as fast and kinda hard sell as these (at least one of them) did.

Anybody out there in YT land have experience with Invenergy? What were your experiences with this company? Good? Bad?

Within 50 mile os me there are quite a few windmills and I have heard some of the good and bad but would like some info on this exact company.

BTW I had these guys drop off a copy of the contract for my Attorney to look over.

TIA

jt
 
Federal and (depending upon where you live) state subsidies are making clean energy all the rage. They can probably offer a good deal, as they have so much $$$ coming at them from the government that they can hand it out like candy.

Locally, industrial solar is the big thing--lots of struggling farmers are being offered nice per acre rates to allow the installer to put up solar panels. The problem is I live in an area where we get snow from Nov until May, and it is cloudy the months in between. In the lower 48, my area is the *worst* for solar energy. Yet the subsidies still make it a lucrative investment.

NASA maintains maps of renewable energy areas that you may want to consult. I only mention this as you will be able to determine if the wind energy actually has a chance to be profitable, or if it will be a government-funded white elephant.

If wind energy is actually profitable in your area, it may be a good deal as there is a business incentive to maintain it. But if it is not, then what I predict happening is that eventually subsidies will be re-directed from the unprofitable installations to the profitable ones. Then if you happen to have an unprofitable one on your land, you're stuck with it. Supposedly there is a trust fund and all kind of promises to pay for removal, but I'll believe that when I see it.
 
I'll add that the big companies in my area also make good neighbor payments to get people not to complain. You might want to mention that to your neighbors. Not that they would complain, but they might want to know that they can be paid not to. Weird times we live in.
 
People that have windmills on their property all seem happy with them. The towers alone generate more income than farming the same land ever did plus the land can still be farmed around the towers. I have not heard any of them complain. People that don't have them seem to be the ones that are doing the complaining.

One or more of your local law firms will probably be negotiating for blocks of land owners. Joining one of those blocks could give you more leverage.

I would negotiate that the tower, pad and driveways must be removed and restored at the end of service life. Also look at how the payments and right of ways would transfer if you sell your property. That could really affect your resale value. Also look at who pays any additional property taxed on the windmill and for how long. A good lawyer will know what to look for.

Think of it like a land developer. Farmers love to complain about development encroaching on their property, then they cry all the way to the bank when they sell out and buy five to ten times as much ground a county over in a no-tax land exchange.

Good luck. You have a problem/oportunity most farmer would like to have.
 
Big Solar came calling a couple of weeks ago. Really did not get an answer as to what if things do not happen as predicted. If the companies use loopholes to shirk responsibilities am I stuck with environmentally unfriendly panels to dispose of?
 
If you want to read the ins and outs of this search ..AgTalk Macinery Talk wind farms.. this will have replies from current day farmers who are dealing and have dealt with this. They were doing this around the area of my moms farm a couple years back, they settled on a couple locations about 10 or 15 miles from hers. Usually the local paper and radio announce that this is proposed for your area and that representatives of the companies will be canvassing the area for feasibility. If this was just a cold call I would be leary.
 
Dave41, well if you think about it if they choose, as in determine your property is a good place for them but your neighbor gets passed over, because they decide not to put any on their property because of wind current and topographical reasons it would be no wonder that there would be complaints. So inconvenience payment to others in the area become feasible to help keep the project keep an accecptable presence.
 
They are a terrible company to work with. They will tell you what ever they think you want to hear. I am in a solar project with them and what they said would happen is far different than what is happening. I called out one of the top fellows about all the lies and his reply was It's just business. They will no longer send him to my farm. We had verbal agreements three times when they left but when the paperwork showed up a few days latter it was different than our agreement. Go over everything with a good lawyer and put every detail you can think about in writing. Tom
 
I'd check the contract to make sure there's a clause stating how the unit/units will be disposed of if they cease to be used for any reason.

I heard of one poor fellow who had to tear down and dispose of one himself when it was no longer used. I forget if the company that owned it went under, or what happened. Anyway, it was a $50,000 project just to get rid if the windmill, plus there was this humongous concrete base in the ground.
 
I live in East Central Indiana and the farmers around who have wind turbines on their farms say that if it's not the worst decision they've ever made it's right near the top. One farmer has not received a payment for several years and when he calls them they say they just haven't gotten around to mailing a check! They promised to repair the roads they tear up BUT their idea of repair is not very good. They promised to give money to the local school systems also and that has NOT happened. They also control the mineral rights to the farm and they consider water a mineral. If you want to build a building or add on to a building the wind company has a say in that as well. They tear up drainage tile to put in underground cable and never repair the tile correctly. If one catches fire and that happens more often that you think the only thing you can do is just let it burn as fire dept. aren't equipped to put out fires that are of that height. Can burn until the oil supply in the nacell is burned out(500 gallon or so). Think about that in dry weather. So what I'm saying is be very cautious!
 
Good point. 4,000+ acre facility slated for my area (WNY). The informational meetings are clearly sham dog and pony shows. Their representatives cannot answer basic questions about safety plans, the actual electricity produced, or its return on investment. How you could start a multi-million dollar project with so few details is beyond me. They are clearly just investors looking to make a quick buck.

They claim there is some trust fund set up to pay for decommissioning, but my prediction is that the well will be dry when the time comes. Solar is different from wind in that the footprint is much larger. Only time will tell how things will work out.
 
Its easy to have removal and restoration in the contract, getting it to happen is another thing.

The state here in their wisdom let oil companies delay paying into the escrow account for remediation. Now we are left with hundreds of abandoned oil wells and no money to clean them up.
 
Tom, you need to contact the Securities Exchange Commission ..this may require a lawyer.. I would hope that the government could be able to cut off their subsidies if they do not follow the contracts they have with property owners. What they did to you is obviously not right and I would certainly think they have violated some Federal laws. If you have neighbors that have units on there land you need to find out if they have been treated the same way; if so you need to persue legal action as a group. Unfortunately dealing with the likes of the SEC will probably include a sea of red tape. Another two cents.
 
I posted a link to wind farms in NW Indiana just as a place to see if they are passing through. I think they are majestical to see.

I didn't realize how many YT haters of wind farms are on here.
George
 
I think wind farms are the way to go: clean energy that's free. I would even put one up myself. That and solar panels.

But the industry is awash in government cash. This creates ideal circumstances for fly-by-night investors.

The bad experiences of those here are not so much the technology as it is the people involved in it. The landowner is just another dollar sign in some situations. If your experiences were different, good for you. For me locally it is big solar and I am not impressed with how they do business.
 
I have always liked windmills but what sense does it make to have something that doesnt last long enough to pay for itself and what happens when it wears out whos going to take it down ?? You cant just go out with a bucket tractor and lift out of the ground and so oh too bad that didnt work
 
When wind energy came into my area in Michigan, John Deer was one of the company's behind it. But they soon sold out to someone else. (after using there name to get contracts). The county was no help they said the contracts are between the wind co. and the farmers. That is until the county seen how big this will be. Then they stopped all construction of windmills until they could figure out how to get a slice of the pie without any investment or risk to them. Then the county passed all kinds of rules and tax changes before they allowed construction to resume.
 
May be a bit off topic but, the big push by government tells me that our politicians have their hands out and that WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT!
Look at our current Secretary of Energy. Immigrant from Canada, former Governor of Michigan. While governor, she touted solar power and pushed for state support of two different startups to manufacture panels. OH BOY, JOBS IN MICHIGAN! Guess what. Both went bankrupt after millions of dollars in state funding.
Also, guess what else. Jenny is a multi-millionaire. Hmmmm. And now she is at the Federal level. She should be a billionaire by the end of her term.
 
i have a windfarm company trying to get me to sign a contract on a couple of my farms. had our attorneys review the contract. here is a couple things to keep in mind. they tout that you will receive X amount of money per year. fine print......but that is the maximum under best possible conditions. your actual payment will be considerably less. if the turbine goes up on your property, you can no longer hunt or target shoot on YOUR property. they get a utility easement from you. they now have rights to run utilities as they see fit on your land. as they own the easement, they can sell the easement to any gas, oil, communication or any other utility as they see fit. you have nothing to say about it, and any revenue they get from the easement, they keep, not you. if you plan on building ANY structure on your property, you need their permission. barns, grain bins, grain leg ect. if they say no, you are S.O.L. the footing is about 60 ft deep of concrete that the turbine sits on. if they leave, they only need to remove the top 6 ft of concrete. you get the rest. (these turbines are about 700 ft tall.) also, if need be, they can take another 15 acres of land to install a sub station. they will determine fair market value of the land. if you do some research, there are a large number of windfarms in the U.S. that are abandoned and the land owners are stuck with them.
 
From some experience!! Invenergy is the parent company out of Chicago. They get enough property's lined up to position about 75 or so wind turbines and then call it '@#@#$@#$@@##' wind farm which will be sold to the local state main power provider. Property is leased, in my case, three years, paying $1000 a year till the project got in gear. You are at there mercy as far as what happens on your property .Things get tore up pretty bad, roads ditches ,fields etc, But things get put back like original. I have no turbine but have electrical under ground feeder wires the full length of a 160 acres. They went through 6 of my 5 year old drainage tile, they repaired ! we shall see how they work. Lot's of complaints by some, of the sky line, all white, 300+ feet in the air. Got them roiling this summer. Took my contract to a lawyer and he said, why not Neighbor took his same contract to the same lawyer, and told him, better not. So much for legal interpretation.
 

Doesn't matter what a load of guys here say. Only matters what your lawyer says. Never enter a long term complex contracy without a lawyer.
 
I kinda figured they would sell the project once it got off the ground. Dealt with this with NW ND mineral rights.

I got to thinking on the installation of the cables. Front men did talk about that but I didn't think to ask, How they were installed. In your case did they Plow them in? Excavator? Trencher? Plow might be a dealbreaker in my book. At least with a trencher you can inspect for broken tile.
 
That same company blew through here about 10 years ago, telling lies to elderly people to get them to sign up their land. I know that to be true personally. About 4 years ago we got letters saying the company decided not to pursue the project. I know this because I was dealing with it during the settlement of my Dad's estate. They're back at it again trying the same tactics. My advice is take the contract to your lawyer and get their opinion in your particular case. Myself I wouldn't let them anywhere near any ground I have. The people that think this is so great have no idea what their contract states. They have all the power and you have none. BT
 
a friend of mine has some windmills on his farm. when they gave him a contract he crossed out the things he didn't like and wrote in what he wanted. they tried to give him grief as wind people didn't read their own contract told him what he could or couldn't do told him you cashed our check. to which he pulled check out of his pocket and said oh yea now who is drivers seat?
 
Sure doesn't sound like those wind farms are a very good deal for a landowner,as with everything the Devil is in the details.To make sure the windmills would be removed if the company goes belly up wonder if the landowner could get some type of bond.
 
They were dug in 5 feet with a tiling machine .5 ditches from the east and five ditches from the west when they get to the terminal
 
All I can say is look at the holes being dug out west to bury the junk blades from windmills. They are apparently not recyclable. A friend of ours was showing us where they are doing this. I forget the state it was in. I think it was WY or maybe UT it was happening can't say for sure though.
 
(quoted from post at 08:07:18 04/30/21) Hey all

Sorry for this being a bit off topic but I figured there is a treasure trove of experiences here to ask from.

Got a visit from a couple of front men from Invenergy wind. Wanting to put up a wind farm on and or around my place. They talked some nice numbers but I always get a bit nervous when guys talk as fast and kinda hard sell as these (at least one of them) did.

Anybody out there in YT land have experience with Invenergy? What were your experiences with this company? Good? Bad?

Within 50 mile os me there are quite a few windmills and I have heard some of the good and bad but would like some info on this exact company.

BTW I had these guys drop off a copy of the contract for my Attorney to look over.

TIA

jt
Click to expand...

Invenergy put up 42 wind turbines right here in Taylor county. They snuck in and had the easement contracts signed BEFORE they ever approached the county supervisors to let them, or any residents know what was about to happen, so since it was a legal contract, nothing could be done even though we tried. Invenergy made a total mess of the roads, which was in the contract for them to fix, but the county ended up doing the work and footing the bill.

Many of the land owners who signed up and now have turbines on their land are sorry that they signed up. Some of those land owners have NEVER received any payments of any kind.

At least one land owner down in Missouri has a a lien against his farm, and cannot borrow operating money from the bank, simply because the company that installed the turbines NEVER paid the concrete company. I could go on, but I have rambled enough.
 
(quoted from post at 02:18:36 05/01/21) Sure doesn't sound like those wind farms are a very good deal for a landowner,as with everything the Devil is in the details.To make sure the windmills would be removed if the company goes belly up wonder if the landowner could get some type of bond.
Click to expand...

The turbine company will remove the concrete ONLY to a depth of 4 feet.
 
(quoted from post at 21:17:37 04/30/21) i have a windfarm company trying to get me to sign a contract on a couple of my farms. had our attorneys review the contract. here is a couple things to keep in mind. they tout that you will receive X amount of money per year. fine print......but that is the maximum under best possible conditions. your actual payment will be considerably less. if the turbine goes up on your property, you can no longer hunt or target shoot on YOUR property. they get a utility easement from you. they now have rights to run utilities as they see fit on your land. as they own the easement, they can sell the easement to any gas, oil, communication or any other utility as they see fit. you have nothing to say about it, and any revenue they get from the easement, they keep, not you. if you plan on building ANY structure on your property, you need their permission. barns, grain bins, grain leg ect. if they say no, you are S.O.L. the footing is about 60 ft deep of concrete that the turbine sits on. if they leave, they only need to remove the top 6 ft of concrete. you get the rest. (these turbines are about 700 ft tall.) also, if need be, they can take another 15 acres of land to install a sub station. they will determine fair market value of the land. if you do some research, there are a large number of windfarms in the U.S. that are abandoned and the land owners are stuck with them.
Click to expand...

Good info here. There are some law firms that follow the wind companies that try to organize the landowners to pay a set fee to them and then they negotiate the best deal for everyone together. That said, they won't help with individual issues and most lawyers aren't well versed enough in the ins and outs of these contracts.

However nothing says you can't take their contract, mark it up, and tell them to make the changes. Their contracts are the usual company boilerplate with everything in their favor. Take out their wording and make it clear that you can hunt, fish, retain all mineral rights, farm within X feet of the tower, Y feet of the roads, yearly damages for lost crops, easement limited to their towers, roads, substation, etc. with you retaining the right to grant easements to others on the same easement area and they have bury their lines Z feet deep and you and other easement holders can cross or go under their lines and roads, you can still put up buildings, etc. and list the goes on of changes you could make and say you don't need their permission to do it. Even if they refuse and offer you a no complaint type of contract payment make sure it doesn't have an easement in it and you still want all the language in there that allows you to use the farm as you want. Include shut-in payments for times when towers aren't operating and definitely have a strong termination and abandonment clauses.

I've dealt with countless oil & gas lease situations and most operators are ok to deal with except for a few bad apples. Even drafted up my own oil and gas lease as the standard forms the companies use all have terms favorable to them.
 
Not downgrading anyone, but it seams when a subject like this comes up a good share of the comments are from those not directly involved. And one more!! When Invenergy first approaches, how does $12000 a year strike you consuming roughly one acre of land? There are 27 pages to there contract and 7 pages to an amendment. You have to read EVERY word
 
(quoted from post at 07:56:22 05/01/21) Not downgrading anyone, but it seams when a subject like this comes up a good share of the comments are from those not directly involved. And one more!! When Invenergy first approaches, how does $12000 a year strike you consuming roughly one acre of land? There are 27 pages to there contract and 7 pages to an amendment. You have to read EVERY word
Click to expand...

There are 42 wind turbines in Taylor county, Iowa. I can see 32 of them from my house, and when I go to town, I travel on roads that have wind turbines within just a few hundred feet. Those spinning blades cause me to experience dizziness and nausea.

THAT makes me directly involved.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

olgentdc
how about a Will
2 3
Replies
50
Views
4K
Dopp Creek
D
olgentdc
how about a Will
Replies
0
Views
257
olgentdc
olgentdc
B
2 ton+ grass with a haybine
2
Replies
22
Views
1K
730virgil
7
R
I'm calling it quits-a bit long
2 3
Replies
51
Views
4K
SDE
S
J
My Take on the Fires
2 3
Replies
40
Views
4K
jimg.allentown
J
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top