05-04-2025
Petition against wind turbines in east El Paso County
(CALHAN, Colo.) — Colleen Nicholson is tired of windmills in eastern El Paso County but doesn't want to leave her home in Calhan.
'People are saying you should just move and I'm like, 'this is my retirement home,'' Nicholson said.
Nicholson found that retirement home four years ago. For her, it was the open fields that surrounded the home, along with the peace that made it feel like the place to settle down. Little did she know that there were wind turbines in place near the house that she said contaminated her water before she got the keys.
Nicholson sent FOX21 News a 2020 water toxin report for her home's water well. Within the water, copper, sodium, and sulfate were present, among other chemicals.
That's why when Nextera Energy announced its Blue Grama Projects, Nicholson stepped up and made a petition to ban wind turbines in eastern El Paso County.
'They're not effective and they use oil, 80 gallons of oil per turbine,' Nicholson said. 'When the turbines break down, they leak the oil into the ground.'
Nicholson also cites the impacts from infrasound, which is a noise so low you can't hear it.
As for known impacts, our own meteorologist Megan Montero sayins there are several studies looking into theories of impacts from wind turbines.
'Some are reporting there are negative health effects such as stress, disturbed sleep, headaches potentially, and also just a reduced quality of life,' Montero said.
Nicholson's petition reached 70 signatures Friday evening, but she adds she wants to collect more before bringing the petition forward to the El Paso County Commissioners.
FOX21 News reached out to commissioners for comment on this latest petition and received a response saying, 'Because this matter is expected to come before the Board, we are legally required to maintain neutrality and are prohibited from making public comments to safeguard the rights of all stakeholders.'
We also reached out to local lawmakers Jeff Crank and Lauren Boebert for comment, but they were not able to make a statement by our deadline.
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