On March 1, David Healy, attorney with Dudley, Sellers, Healy, Heath & Desmond, PLLC, in Tallahassee, Florida, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Kevin Kohmetscher and ìother similarly situated individualsî against NextEra Energy Resources Inc., to stop the company from operating industrial wind turbines near residential communities. NextEra owns the Golden West Wind Energy Center in Calhan.Cindy Cobb, a resident who lives near the wind farm, said she, her husband and her son are part of the lawsuit. She said the wind farm, which includes 145, 453-foot-tall industrial turbines and has been operational since October 2015, is responsible for the death of more than 60 of her animals and the ongoing health issues she and her family have developed.ìWe have well over $25,000 worth of dead animals,î she said. ìMy animals are extra income and we are struggling now. We have had to buy grass for our animals 265 days per year because there is nothing out here for them to eat anymore. It (the wind farm) has taken everything I have.îThe lawsuit alleges that industrial turbines cause the following: intermittent shadows cast by the blades that obscure sunlight as they rotate, creating a strobe-like effect; audible noise described as a pulsating or thumping sound; and inaudible low frequency sound waves, all of which can result in negative impacts to oneís health.The lawsuit also alleges: ìMany who reside near Defendantís (NextEraís) wind farms are unable to move due to the financial strain caused by the decreased value of their property and the inability to find a buyer willing to live near a wind farm.îWhile the lawsuit asks for relief in the form of compensation for damages caused by the wind farm, Cobb said all she and her family want is to sell their house and leave the area. ìWe just want to get out of here,î she said.In response to a phone call to Bryan Garner, director of communications for NextEra, he sent the following email: ìWe donít comment on pending litigation.îCobb said she knows the lawsuit could take months to years to be resolved, but she is appreciative that someone is finally doing something on her familyís behalf.
