Windfall (2010)

Wind power... It's green... It's good... Or is it? Windfall exposes the dark side of wind energy development when the residents of a rural upstate New York town consider going green.

Director:

Laura Israel

Stars:

Scott Alexander, Frank Bachler, Ron Bailey

Cast

Credited cast:
Scott Alexander	...	Himself - Operations Manager
Frank Bachler	...	Himself - Town Supervisor
Ron Bailey	...	Himself - Meredith Resident
Sue Bailey	...	Herself - Meredith Resident
John Barrasso	...	Himself - Senator, Wyoming (archive footage)
Rick Beyer	...	Himself - Tug Hill Resident
Dan Birnbaum	...	Himself - Meredith Resident
Keitha Capouya	...	Herself - Head of Planning Board
Chuck Coggins	...	Himself (voice)
Tara Collins	...	Herself - Meredith Resident
John Hamilton	...	Himself - Meredith Resident
Roger Hamilton	...	Himself - Town Board
Tom Hewson	...	Himself - Energy Ventures Analysis (archive footage)
Ken Jaffe	...	Himself - Meredith Resident
Andy Karsner	...	Himself - Department of Energy (archive footage)

Storyline

Wind power... It's green... It's good... It reduces our dependency on foreign oil... That's what the people of Meredith, in upstate New York first thought when a wind developer looked to supplement this farm town's failing economy with a farm of their own -- that of 40 industrial wind turbines. Attracted at first to the financial incentives, residents grow increasingly alarmed as they discover side effects they never dreamed of, as well as the potential for disturbing financial scams. With wind development growing rapidly at 39% annually in the US, WINDFALL is an eye-opener for anyone concerned about the future of renewable energy.

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Plot Keywords:

wind | farm | wind power | economy | wind turbine | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 May 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Lowville, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,780 (USA) (3 February 2012)

Gross:

$6,093 (USA) (4 May 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cat Hollow Films, Double Wide Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Color:

Color Color (HDCAM)

User Reviews

Windfall flawed and biased

Windfall gets marks for being a fairly polished attack on wind energy.

However, it is deeply one-sided. The primary creator protested against the wind farm from long before it was erected, stirring up anti-wind animosity. The sole technical consultant, Lisa Linowes, is a long-time anti-wind advocate with funding links to the Koch Brothers and the Heartland Institute, large supporters of anti-renewable, pro-fossil fuel propaganda. (Google the Checks and Balances Project entry on Lisa Linowes for full background not this.) No counter-balance was provided to Ms. Linowes inaccurate and biased views.

Windfall promotes and supports the health hysteria named Wind Turbine Syndrome. This syndrome, named by Dr. Nina Pierpont after a set of 23 phone interviews in a methodologically flawed and biased study, is a psychogenic illness.

A true documentary film-maker could have produced an interesting documentary on the small town, the wind farm that went in and the resulting pros and cons. However, this is not that documentary. Instead, it is an anti-wind advocacy center-piece that local anti-wind groups across the USA are airing to spread disinformation and create more opposition to wind energy.