The recent “investigative report” written by GateHouse Media reporter Emily LeCoz seeks to cast a dark cloud of controversy over renewable energy. She focuses, intentionally, on people who claim to have had a bad experience or who have a bias against the industry, including many known anti-wind activists.
If this report were the work of a fledgling reporter for a disreputable media outlet, one could, perhaps, explain the shortcuts and misrepresentations that go unchallenged in the story. What’s most disturbing, however, is Ms. LeCoz is no rookie reporter and GateHouse Media is a national media chain that should know the difference between tabloid journalism and news.
Our company went to great efforts to help inform and educate Ms. LeCoz’s story. We participated in multiple interviews and provided her with names of people she could interview to give greater perspective on how wind development works, how it provides income to farmers and ranchers, and creates jobs and tax revenue for rural communities. We referred her to published health experts who could show her the more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific studies that find no correlation between properly sited wind turbines and any negative health effects. Unfortunately, Ms. LeCoz and her publication did not want to know the whole story or the correct story – only the story they wanted to tell.
It is a shame, too, because some communities may take her story seriously. The fact is renewable energy has been and will continue to be a great driver of rural economic prosperity and a source of pride for Americans who are glad, once and for all, that our country can reduce its dependence on foreign sources of energy.
We remain committed to investing in responsible wind energy, just as we have done for nearly 30 years in more than 120 projects across the U.S. and Canada. Talk to people in those communities about the opportunities and benefits wind energy has meant for them. They’ll tell you a very positive story about what’s happening in our country today. Unfortunately, that’s a story Emily LeCoz and GateHouse Media don’t want you to know.
John DiDonato
Vice president, renewable energy development
NextEra Energy Resources