DailyReporter.com

Local = laws leave=20 wind farms out to pasture

Sean Ryan and Paul Snyder =

Posted November 20, = 2008

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Lawmakers will rally again for statewide = regulations on wind farm development in the upcoming = legislative=20 session, and, if the standards pass, local regulation could = be a=20 thing of the past.

=E2=80=9CWe will push for the (Public = Service Commission=20 of Wisconsin) to create uniform standards and regulation of = wind=20 energy for all projects,=E2=80=9D said Curt Pawlisch, an = attorney with=20 Cullen Weston Pines & Bach LLP, Madison. Pawlisch is = revising=20 wind farm standards that failed to get out of legislative = committees=20 last session.

=E2=80=9CI wouldn=E2=80=99t say local = regulations would be for=20 naught,=E2=80=9D he said, =E2=80=9Cbut the PSC would = determine what works and what=20 doesn=E2=80=99t.=E2=80=9D

And that could mean the state getting = final say on=20 any wind project.

For some, it=E2=80=99s encouraging news. = Mike Donahue,=20 executive vice president of Midwest Wind Energy in Chicago = said=20 statewide rules would help Wisconsin attract more wind farm = projects=20 because clarity and consistency in law is the key.

=E2=80=9CIn Wisconsin, (laws) vary so = wildly,=E2=80=9D Donahue=20 said. =E2=80=9COftentimes, they will change on you in the = middle of the=20 development process.=E2=80=9D

And with the state scrambling to reach = its goal of=20 obtaining 25 percent of its energy from renewable resources = by 2025,=20 state officials are increasingly wary of local obstacles. =

Wisconsin=E2=80=99s biggest competitors = for wind farm=20 projects are Iowa and Minnesota, both of which have = statewide rules=20 and permitting systems, Donahue said. Localized control of = wind farm=20 legislation in Wisconsin puts the state at a competitive=20 disadvantage, he said.

=E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s sort of the = great irony of Wisconsin,=E2=80=9D he=20 said. =E2=80=9CYou have an excellent state policy framework = that supports=20 wind energy development, but you don=E2=80=99t necessarily = have that kind of=20 support at the local government (level).=E2=80=9D

Carla Vigue, spokeswoman for Gov. Jim = Doyle, said=20 the governor is a big supporter of renewable energy and wind = farm=20 development. She wouldn=E2=80=99t say whether Doyle would = sign legislation=20 establishing statewide standards for wind farm siting, since = it=E2=80=99s=20 still too early to tell what kind of shape the bill could = take.

=E2=80=9CHe=E2=80=99d want to look = closely at whatever came across=20 his desk,=E2=80=9D Vigue said.

Several municipalities have enacted = their own wind=20 farm development ordinances.

Trempealeau County Board Chairwoman = Barbara Semb=20 said county residents put a lot of time and thought into the = siting=20 ordinance the board approved last December.

The law, which passed on a close vote, = said farms=20 had to be developed at least one mile from neighboring = residences,=20 schools, hospitals and businesses; however, property owners = could=20 agree to have turbines built closer to buildings on their = property.=20

=E2=80=9CI feel we=E2=80=99ve really = done a good ordinance,=E2=80=9D Semb=20 said, =E2=80=9Cand I would really like to hold on to our = ordinance.=E2=80=9D

Outgoing state Rep. Barbara Gronemus, = the=20 Whitehall Democrat who oversees the Trempealeau district, = said,=20 while the state should push for rules, it walks a fine line = with=20 local governments.

=E2=80=9CBut there are times when we = have to mandate=20 procedure,=E2=80=9D said Gronemus, who decided not to run = for re-election=20 this fall. =E2=80=9CMunicipalities get their undies in a = bundle for no=20 reason, and we have to step in. The fact is we=E2=80=99re = going to have to=20 generate more electricity in this part of the = state.=E2=80=9D

Manitowoc Mayor Kevin Crawford, a = supporter of=20 wind energy, said state rules could end the bickering by = cutting=20 through divisive local politics that can kill wind farm = projects.=20

Having wind farm-friendly rules = statewide would be=20 a boon for Manitowoc because they would help two local = companies =E2=80=94=20 Tower Tech Systems Inc., which manufactures the poles upon = which=20 turbines perch, and The Manitowoc Co. Inc., which = manufactures=20 cranes used to erect turbines.

=E2=80=9CIf the state can make it a = free-trade zone for=20 wind, that takes the local politics out of it and, to be = honest, I=20 think (local officials) will be happy to say, = =E2=80=98It=E2=80=99s out of my=20 hands,=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D Crawford said.

Pawlisch agreed.

=E2=80=9CThe typical town or county = board member didn=E2=80=99t=20 sign up to be an expert on siting standards and = issues,=E2=80=9D he=20 said.

But it doesn=E2=80=99t mean the debates = lack intensity.=20 The Calumet County Board=E2=80=99s approval of a wind farm = ordinance =E2=80=93=20 passed on an almost 50-50 vote =E2=80=94 created lasting = political and=20 personal rifts, said Board Chairman Bill Barribeau.

Barribeau said it would be a luxury to = avoid that=20 kind of conflict, but said he doesn=E2=80=99t have strong = feelings for or=20 against statewide rules.

Calumet County=E2=80=99s new wind farm = rules were approved=20 in the middle of Midwest Wind Energy=E2=80=99s planning to = develop the Stony=20 Ridge wind farm on 8,000 acres in the county.

The company has since expanded its plans = from less=20 than 100 megawatts to up to 140. Donahue said plans call for = about=20 70 wind turbines, which could be built using Tower Tech and=20 Manitowoc Co. products. The larger plan means the PSC will = regulate=20 the project; county regulations would have limited the = development=20 to 10 or 12 turbines, he said.

=E2=80=9CAs to what the actual = regulations are, that=E2=80=99s=20 important,=E2=80=9D Donahue said. =E2=80=9CBut = what=E2=80=99s more important is knowing what=20 they are and knowing they are not going to change in the = middle of=20 the development process.=E2=80=9D

Pawlisch said he hopes the Legislature = puts=20 together a group of stakeholders with varying opinions on = wind farms=20 as it draws up legislation in the next session. He said = while some=20 residents are opposed to turbines, state officials need to = balance=20 those concerns.

But he also said the state can=E2=80=99t = bow to pressure=20 from wind farm opponents.

=E2=80=9COn the last count, there were = 600 megawatts of=20 wind energy in Wisconsin stalled or foreclosed upon because = of local=20 ordinances and delays,=E2=80=9D Pawlisch said. = =E2=80=9CPutting one turbine up is=20 about a $4 million investment. You do the math on what the = state=E2=80=99s=20 losing out on.

=E2=80=9CIf we=E2=80=99re missing out on = any kind of economic=20 development in this climate, people are going to have to = take a good=20 look at themselves in the mirror.=E2=80=9D =