Operators of the Altamont Wind Farm are considering construction of a similar series of wind turbines on the hills of Tomales.

Yet a spokesman for NextEra Energy Resources - a subsidiary of Florida Power & Light Co. - said the project remained in its earliest stages.

"To use a baseball example, we're still warming up for the first inning," said NextEra spokesman Steve Stengel, who confirmed the company had been in touch with several ranchers in the area. "We think there is good wind in the area, and because of where it sits, relative to where people are, we think it is a good location. But in terms of any sort of data to measure the wind, or any sort of studies that would need to be part of a formal process - we haven't done any of that yet, nor have we started that process."

Rancher Chris Cornett said he'd like the opportunity to draw additional income from his land, though he doubts county officials would agree to the proposal.

"There's not much we can do in the way of development. Marin County has kept (agricultural land) that way for a long time," said Cornett, whose ranch is one of about 15 the power company approached in December. "I shouldn't speak for other people, but it seems (ranchers) are keeping an open mind about it."

Construction of large, energy-generating wind turbines - like the 200- to 260-foot towers at Altamont Pass east of Livermore - has proven controversial in Marin County. The McEvoy Ranch's plans to build a 246-foot wind turbine north of Novato was opposed by neighbors who worried it would block their views, make noise and pose a threat to birds and bats. The ranch won permission to build the windmill in 2007 after scaling back its design to 150 feet, but the structure remains on the drawing board, a ranch spokeswoman said.

Nicasio rancher Mark Pasternak faced similar opposition to construction of an 80-foot windmill on his Devil's Gulch Ranch in 2005.

"Considering the challenges the McEvoys had, and another neighbor here in Nicasio had to build a single windmill, I would be surprised if (the NextEra project) was able to be accomplished," Pasternak said.

Pasternak noted that most, if not all of the ranch property in coastal Tomales falls under the jurisdiction of the state Coastal Commission, which would draw scrutiny to the project from outside the county.

"Even outside of the Coastal Commission, building a wind farm in Marin would be challenging," Pasternak said. "There are a lot of people who feel strongly that it would be detrimental to the views of the hills, and that there are other problems, such as issues with birds. These would be far more problematic and challenging in a wind farm situation than for a single windmill."

In addition, about half the Tomales ranches under consideration have sold conservation easements on their property to the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, which has raised concerns about the use of that land for commercial wind farms.

"We would certainly have no objections as a general matter to any device that would generate energy for use on the farm," said Executive Director Robert Berner. "There may be a question when the purpose is energy generation on a commercial scale for sale on the electrical grid. It may depend on the scale of such devices and whether they have any adverse impact."

While Marin County officials hope to draw on alternative energy sources for a proposed Marin Clean Energy program, spokeswoman Dawn Weisz said organizers have not yet discussed a large wind farm operation like the one envisioned by NextEra.

"It's not something that the board has discussed," said Weisz, the county's sustainability and community choice aggregation coordinator, adding that she had only recently learned of the Tomales proposal. "It's too early to say before we have more information."

NextEra representatives said they did not yet know how tall any proposed wind turbines in Tomales might be, how many of them the company might construct, or even where the company would like to build the farm.

"At the moment, they're just testing the wind," rancher Cornett said.