La Crosse Tribune

Winds of change: = There=92s money=20 to be made in wind farms, but the idea is=20 generating some backlash

Western=20 Wisconsin may never be a wind energy mecca = like=20 southwest Minnesota, northwest Iowa or the = Dakotas.

But that doesn=92t mean = windmills=20 won=92t someday dot our = skyline.

Wind=20 developers =97 some local, some not =97 = are exploring=20 several projects in the region. So far, = there are=20 no done deals, but some developers hope to = be=20 building as soon as 2008.

In = addition to=20 replacing carbon-generated electricity = with=20 cleaner, renewable energy, there=92s money = to be=20 made from wind energy for utilities, = governments=20 and local land owners.

But not = everyone is=20 embracing the idea of 300-foot wind towers = =97=20 especially if it=92s in their backyards. = Opponents=20 have raised concerns about the health, = safety,=20 wildlife impact and aesthetics. And = they=92re=20 putting pressure on local governments to = impose=20 strict controls on wind = development.

The=20 battle has been strongest in Monroe = County, where=20 Chicago-based Invenergy LLC is proposing = several=20 dozen towers in a 50- to 75-megawatt wind = farm,=20 known as Summit Ridge Wind Energy. In = April,=20 voters in the town of Ridgeville unseated = two of=20 the three town board members, including = the town=20 chairman.

=93It=92s been highly = contested in=20 some of the towns,=94 said Monroe County = Zoning=20 Administrator Alison Phillips. =93That=92s = really kind=20 of too bad, because neighbors are not = talking to=20 neighbors, and no matter what happens, = probably=20 never will again.=94

Wind farms = generate=20 electricity by using the wind to turn = giant blades=20 that rotate turbines to make power. The = blades=20 have diameters ranging from 230 feet to = 295 feet=20 and are mounted on towers 197 feet to 295 = feet=20 tall.

Growing from almost nothing = in 1980,=20 wind-powered turbines generated 11,605 = megawatts=20 of electricity in the U.S. in 2006, though = that=20 was still less than 1 percent of the = national=20 power supply.

Wind farms now = operate in 36=20 states. A National Research Council panel = report=20 says estimates are that wind farms could = generate=20 2 percent to 7 percent of the nation=92s = electricity=20 within 15 years.

=93There is a = great=20 diversity of opinion on how much there is = going to=20 be a ramping up of wind energy,=94 said = report=20 co-author Mary English of the University = of=20 Tennessee.

By reducing the need to = generate=20 electricity by burning fossil fuels, the = turbines=20 have been welcomed as a boon to the = environment.=20 Others worry about the danger to birds and = bats,=20 impacts on wildlife habitat and what some = see as a=20 blight on the scenery.

David Eggen, = chairman of the town of Christiana in = Vernon=20 County, said opposition at the local level = sometimes can be driven by something wind=20 developers call =93tower = envy.=94

=93One=20 landowner gets a wind tower with a $4,000- = to=20 $5,000-a-year rental agreement, and the = other=20 neighbor, they just get to look at it,=94 = Eggen=20 said.

But Jim Naleid of La Crosse, = whose=20 AgWind Energy Partners is pursuing wind=20 development in Buffalo and Trempealeau = counties,=20 said neighbors can share in the=20 wealth.

=93Developers are creating = good=20 neighbor funds,=94 Naleid said. =93Give = every neighbor=20 within a half-mile $500 a year =97 a good = neighbor=20 reward.=94

For governments, the = reward can be=20 much bigger.

Once a wind developer = exceeds=20 production of 50 megawatts of power, local = governments start collecting annual taxes = of=20 $4,000 per megawatt, he said. On a = 100-megawatt=20 project, that=92s $400,000 a year for the = counties=20 and towns.

But lots of homework = must be=20 done, developers said, before everyone = starts=20 counting their money.

Standing = outside, the=20 wind in your face may feel like enough to = power a=20 wind turbine. But developers typically = need 12 to=20 18 months=92 worth of wind data from a = special=20 meteorological tower.

According to = the U.S.=20 Department of Energy, there=92s only a 1 = mph=20 difference in the average annual wind = speed=20 between more desirable Class 4 wind areas, = such as=20 southwest Minnesota, which has 13 mph = winds, and=20 Class 3 areas, which include parts of = western=20 Wisconsin, where the wind blows 12=20 mph.

Developers feel resistance = from=20 local regulations

When it comes = to wind=20 energy, the state of Wisconsin and its = local=20 governments aren=92t always on the same=20 page.

Wisconsin wants to improve = the=20 state=92s energy independence by = encouraging wind=20 farm development.

But some local = officials=20 and residents are skeptical about 300-foot = towers=20 near their homes and say they=92d rather = see=20 windmills in somebody else=92s=20 backyard.

Projects larger than 100=20 megawatts must be approved by the = state=92s Public=20 Service Commission. Smaller projects, = including=20 all those proposed so far for western = Wisconsin,=20 only need local approval.

According = to=20 state law, wind and solar energy are = preferred=20 resources, so =93access to them should not = be denied=20 or restricted unnecessarily,=94 said = Michael=20 Vickerman, executive director of Renew = Wisconsin,=20 a nonprofit that promotes clean energy = strategies.=20 =93Municipalities can only regulate and = restrict=20 projects on the basis of public health and = safety.=94

=93The court of appeals = is clear on=20 this, that unless the restriction is = intended to=20 protect public health and safety, it is = out of=20 bounds,=94 Vickerman said.

The = state has=20 prepared a model wind ordinance for = counties and=20 municipalities to adopt. Some, such as = Buffalo=20 County, have adopted it with minor = variations.=20 Others, such as Trempealeau County, are = exploring=20 more restrictive rules.

At a recent = public=20 hearing, Supervisor George Brandt, = chairman of the=20 Trempealeau County Zoning and Planning = Committee,=20 said, =93The state makes it very difficult = for local=20 units of government to say no to renewable = energy=20 sources and development, and it limits = what we can=20 ask from the utilities that want to = develop these=20 things.=94

=93We=92re not unique. = What=92s=20 happening around the world is on the = doorstep of=20 Trempealeau County,=94 Brandt = said.

But=20 Ettrick resident Kaye Henderson told = Brandt the=20 county is going too far.

=93If this = zoning=20 administration and this zoning board were = in=20 effect when rural electrification came in = in the=20 1920s and =9230s, I doubt we=92d have = electricity=20 today,=94 Henderson said.

Vickerman = said the=20 biggest issues in regulating wind towers = are=20 setbacks from property lines and = neighboring=20 households. Developers generally want a = distance=20 only slightly more than the height of the = highest=20 point of the windmill. Some local = governments want=20 to restrict them to coming no closer than = a=20 quarter-mile to the nearest=20 neighbor.

=93Opponents to wind = energy are=20 becoming more and more organized, despite = state=20 law virtually guaranteeing the protection = of=20 projects, aside from threats to public = health or=20 safety,=94 said Jim Naleid of AgWind = Energy=20 Partners, which is proposing wind projects = in=20 Buffalo and Trempealeau = counties.

=93In=20 Wisconsin, developers find themselves = having to=20 spend a great amount of time and energy = defending=20 state law,=94 Naleid said. =93It=92s not = the developers=20 asking the law to bend, it=92s the = developers asking=20 for the law to protect and allow viable = projects=20 to take place.=94

Even if a county = adopts an=20 ordinance that follows the spirit of state = law,=20 wind developers still face challenges at = the local=20 level, where town officials can veto a=20 project.

David Eggen, chairman of = the town=20 of Christiana in Vernon County, said = they=92ve held=20 four public hearings so far on a proposal = to put=20 two wind towers in the town just outside = Westby,=20 Wis.

He said the developers asked = the town=20 to adopt an ordinance they=92d written. = Instead,=20 Christiana is working on its own = ordinance, a more=20 restrictive measure that is based on one = adopted=20 by Dodge County. The town and the = developer,=20 EcoEnergy, will meet in the coming month = to find=20 common ground, Eggen = said.

=93It=92s such a=20 change for a little town government like = ours,=94=20 Eggen said. =93We=92re more used to = dealing with=20 issues of driveways and fence-line = disputes and=20 dogs. At the same time, we don=92t want to = get=20 painted as we=92re against wind or = alternative=20 energy. It=92s hard to argue against=20 it.=94

The Associated Press = contributed to=20 this report. Reid Magney can be reached at = (608)=20 791-8211 or rmagney@lacrossetribune.com.=20 .

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