Wind farms sound like a great idea, until you have to live next to one — wind turbines can make a fair amount of noise. For this reason, some residents of eastern Oregon were not too happy when a wind developer came knocking. In some places, this would lead to a pitched political battle. But Catihness Energy came up with an alternative approach: Paying local residents for noise easements. Specifically, they are offering $5,000 to landowners who will sign a waiver agreeing they will not complain about wind farm noise. Not every landowner is going along, but compensating those affected seems a more progressive appraoch than seeking de facto noise easements through regulatory fiat or eminent domain.