SEP 06

It may surprise some...but most of America is farms. We have more farmland than anything else. And a lot of that farmland is windy farmland. But while wind is a stable and fairly high-yield crop, it requires huge start-up investment. So if you're a company that has a good relationship with farmers, a lot of money, and a tiny bit of foresight, you're in a good position to do some hefty financing and ensure excellent returns for the forseable future.

Which is exactly where John Deere comes in. They've been loaning farmers, or groups of farmers, money to build wind turbines on their land for the last five years. The results have been exciting. The wind farms don't disturb any habitat that isn't already irreperably altered and farmers get another income that requires very little of their land.

CNN's coverage of the deal shows Deere paying for half of a $10,000,000 project, a bank loan covering most of the rest, and farmers themselves putting up just $10,000 a piece. John Deere makes almost all of the money for the first ten years, while the farmers get a modest increase in their income. Then, after the project is completely paid off, the farmers get to sit back and rake in the cash while the rest of us benefit with a much more robust energy portfolio.

Developing rural america, supporting farmers, making tons of cash and going green. Win Win Win Win situations are great.

Thanks to paul for the link:

Via CNN Money

Used Tractors are available as well.

Comments (9)

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Well done John Deere
written by weee, September 06, 2007

for stepping in where governments have failed us.

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...
written by EV, September 07, 2007

Government? HA! This is an example of a company filling the demand in a market. Here's to more companies doing something like this and the red tape bureaucracy staying out.

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A good investment
written by Craig, September 07, 2007

Why is it that the retards running hedge funds purchase CDO's with a lower return than these wind farm arrangements. If investors were truely intelligent than this type of arrangment could be done everywhere all over the world repeatedly

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Are there risks ascociated with wind far
written by Mark, September 07, 2007

Interesting question posed in this thread -

http://talkclimatechange.com/p...?f=13&t=52

Are there any potential climate issues in effectively removing large amounts of energy from our weather systems? Currently the amount of energy generated from wind farms is small, but if this increases dramatically, what will the knock-on effects be?

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In response to Mark (question above)
written by Tim, September 10, 2007

There is nothing we do, can possibly do, that will have no impact. The very nature of our existence is only proven by the impact we make on our environment (our total surroundings, not just nature). Anything we do will always have an impact; so the idea is to minimise that impact.

It would take a lot of wind turbines to have any noticeable effect, hopefully it won't get to that stage (we should lower our energy "needs" in conjunction with moving to green energy sources).

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What about GeoThermal?
written by Douglas Dickson, February 11, 2008

Every location has a "Best" a energy system for any given location. We need to find what works best in your location.

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**Green in Greene**
written by jesissickoffossilfuels, April 27, 2008

I LOVE THIS PROMOTING FOR MOTHER EARTH!! THE REST OF THE WORLD IS WRONG, AMERICANS CAN & WILL STAND TOGETHER TO RESOLVE ENVIORMENTAL ISSUES; ON OUR LAND AS THE FOREFRONT {SINCE WE ARE WAY BEHIND THE REST OF THE PLANET.} WAY OVER DUE & WITH MUCH NEEDED EMPHASIS :I'VE ERECTED A COMPANY BASED ON SUCH INNITIATIVES. WE PLEGE TO BAND RESCOURCES ECONOMICALLY & ENVIROMENTALLY --STABILIZE REGIONS IN THE NORTH EAST WITH GOALS OF GLOBAL PRESERVATION. I ENCOURAGE ALL TO JOIN IN,OR MAKE YOU OWN. OUR CO IS NAMED 'GREEN IN GREENE'. E-MAIL- \n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Hot , flat and crowded
written by Jan, December 06, 2008

Read Tom Friedmans new book "Hot Flat and Crowded"
We had better move forward quickly.

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...
written by Jensen, January 19, 2010

I was thinking, if one could predict and stop natural disaster... wouldn't it be better than any green technology works?

The cause of all these is because the world is cracking apart... right?

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