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Neighbors say wind energy has its price
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A collection of 400-foot wind turbines tower =
over=20
farmland in the town of Malone in northern Fond du Lac County. The =
turbines are=20
part of the 88-turbine Blue Sky Green Field wind farm. New regulations =
being=20
considered by the state Public Service Commission could open the way for =
more=20
wind farms in Wisconsin. Steve =
Apps/Wisconsin=20
State Journal
ST. CLOUD, Wis. =E2=80=94 Elizabeth Ebertz loves her garden, but the = 67-year-old=20 grandmother doesn=E2=80=99t work in it much anymore.
The small vegetable patch, which has produced onions, carrots and = tomatoes=20 for many family dinners, sits behind her home, in a little valley, about = a=20 half-mile from a dozen 400-foot-tall wind turbines.
The structures are part of the Blue Sky Green Field Wind Energy = Center in=20 northeastern Fond du Lac County, one of the state=E2=80=99s largest wind = farms, capable=20 of producing energy for about 36,000 homes.
Unfortunately, said Ebertz, the turbines also produce enough noise to = chase=20 her from the garden =E2=80=94 and most nights, disturb her sleep.
=E2=80=9CSometimes it sounds like a racetrack, or a plane = landing,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=80=9CYou=20 wouldn=E2=80=99t believe how loud it gets.=E2=80=9D
The state Public Service Commission is considering a new set of wind = farm=20 regulations that could free up the industry and promote growth in = Wisconsin, a=20 state that has lagged behind the rest of the Midwest in using wind as an = alternative energy source.
The PSC, which regulates state utilities, is expected to send the = proposal to=20 the Legislature by the end of the month.
If passed, the measure could go a long way in helping Wisconsin reach = its=20 goal of generating 10 percent of its energy with renewable sources by = 2015.=20 Renewable sources account for 5 percent of the state=E2=80=99s energy = now.
The measure could also end what has been years of localized fights = =E2=80=94 often=20 spurred by well-funded anti-wind organizations =E2=80=94 that have = effectively killed at=20 least 10 proposed wind farms in the past eight years, and scared off = several=20 others.
But for people like Ebertz, the new rules mean more people will have = to deal=20 with wind turbines and the problems that come with them.
=E2=80=9CI wish those things were never built here,=E2=80=9D Ebertz = said. =E2=80=9CThey=E2=80=99re just too=20 close to people. I wish they were gone.=E2=80=9D
State far behind neighbors
Wisconsin spends about $1.5 billion on imported energy every year and = ranks=20 16th in the country in available wind.
According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Wisconsin = has the=20 capacity to produce up to 449 megawatts of energy from its current wind = farms =E2=80=94=20 enough to power about 110,000 homes.
Yet the state trails other Midwestern states in wind energy = production.=20 Minnesota wind farms produce 1,797 megawatts, Illinois produces 1,848 = and Iowa=20 generates 3,670. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s not even close,=E2=80=9D said = Barnaby Dinges, an AWEA member and=20 lobbyist from Illinois. =E2=80=9CWisconsin is danger of falling out of = the wind game=20 altogether. It=E2=80=99s getting a reputation as inhospitable to the = wind industry.=E2=80=9D
Dinges has lobbied for six wind farms in the past five years, three = of them=20 in Wisconsin. He said the state has a number of well-organized anti-wind = groups=20 that have endangered its 10 percent goal.
=E2=80=9CThis isn=E2=80=99t like any grass-roots opposition we have = seen elsewhere,=E2=80=9D he said.=20 =E2=80=9CThese aren=E2=80=99t just concerned citizens going to meetings. = These are mass=20 mailings, billboards, full-page ads. It=E2=80=99s more professional and = it costs a lot=20 of money.=E2=80=9D
Jenny Heinzen =E2=80=94 a professor of wind energy technology at = Lakeshore Technical=20 College, which has campuses in Manitowoc, Cleveland and Sheboygan, and a = member=20 of the state=E2=80=99s Wind Siting Council =E2=80=94 said she has been = amazed with the=20 opposition.
=E2=80=9CI have my suspicions that they are getting help from some = groups from=20 outside the state, but that has never been confirmed,=E2=80=9D she said, = referencing=20 persistent rumors of coal and natural gas companies helping to kill wind = projects here.
There are a lot of people who live near wind farms and never report = problems.=20 Still, the state is home to several anti-wind groups, including the = Brown County=20 Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy, the WINDCOWS, the Calumet County = Citizens=20 for Responsible Energy, Healthy Wind Wisconsin and the Coalition for=20 Environmental Stewardship.
These groups have some powerful supporters, including several = prominent=20 lawyers, lobbyist and former state Sen. Bob Welch and Carl Kuehne, = former CEO of=20 American Foods Group.
But officials with the anti-wind groups say most of their members are = simply=20 residents who do not like the thought of living near a wind farm.
=E2=80=9CWe heard that criticism before =E2=80=94 that we are a front = group for oil and gas=20 companies =E2=80=94 but it=E2=80=99s just not true,=E2=80=9D said Lynn = Korinek, a member of WINDCOWS.=20 =E2=80=9CWe are a group of about 200 members who hold rummage sales to = fund our fight.=20 There are no special interests behind us, believe me.=E2=80=9D
Neighbors claim health problems
Most of the state=E2=80=99s anti-wind groups say they have nothing = against wind=20 energy, they simply disagree with how it is implemented in the = state.
Still, their websites show members either fear the possible side = effects of=20 wind energy, or want others to fear them. The concerns include = diminished=20 property values, occasional noise pollution, moving shadows cast by the = giant=20 windmills along with loss of sleep from vibrations, increased menstrual = cycles,=20 high blood pressure, headaches and irritability.
Recently, the state Division of Public Health looked into the issue, = studying=20 more than 150 medical reports, interviewing dozens of residents and=20 municipalities and consulting the universities of Wisconsin, Maine and=20 Minnesota, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and = Prevention.
Their conclusion was that scientific evidence does not support the = claim of=20 wind turbine syndrome, an umbrella term for the health problems some = have=20 attributed to wind farms. The letter also points out that many of the = symptoms=20 associated with the condition =E2=80=94 headaches, irritability, loss of = sleep =E2=80=94 are=20 fairly common and can be attributed to other factors.
=E2=80=9CThey can explain it anyway they want, but something is = different around here=20 and it has been ever since they put those turbines up,=E2=80=9D said = Allen Hass, a=20 56-year-old farmer who owns about 600 acres in Malone, northeast of Fond = du=20 Lac.
Hass has three Blue Sky Green Field turbines on his property. He said = We=20 Energies, which owns the wind farm, pays him about $12,000 a year for = the=20 space.
Hass said the money does not make up for his health problems, = including=20 headaches and loss of memory.
=E2=80=9CI wish I never made that deal,=E2=80=9D he said.
Brian Manthey, We Energies spokesman, said the company is aware of = Hass=E2=80=99s=20 complaints, but that the scientific evidence does not support them. He = said the=20 company works hard to make its neighbors happy.
=E2=80=9CYou never get 100 percent support for anything, but you will = find that a lot=20 of people are happy with the farm,=E2=80=9D he said.
New rules trump local ones
The new rules, written by the Wind Siting Council, streamline the = state=20 approval process so potential developers know exactly what they face = when=20 considering a project in Wisconsin.
Probably the most important aspect of the new regulations deals with = state=20 permitting. In the past, the state only had direct authority over wind = farms=20 generating more than 100 megawatts.
Under the new rules, the state would deal with all wind farms. Local=20 municipalities would still be involved but would not be allowed to = establish=20 regulations stricter than the state=E2=80=99s.
Supporters figure this will open the door for the rapid growth of = wind energy=20 in the state by bypassing many of the local fights that have created = such a=20 logjam. Wisconsin is home to nine wind farms, with another two under=20 construction, and three in the planning stages.
Posted in Local on Sunday, = August 15,=20 2010 9:15 am Updated: 5:54 pm. Wind=20 Farms, Wind=20 Energy, Public=20 Service Commission, Renewable=20 Energy,
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