A group of Boone County property owners believe the answer to the country's energy and other woes is blowing in the wind -- but opponents of a proposed wind farm in the western part of the county remain unconvinced. More than 75 people attended a meeting Tuesday to discuss contracts offered to area landowners by Gestamp Wind North America. ...The company is offering landowners $14,000 per 400-foot turbine annually, a figure several people at the meeting said was above average for the area.

The 200- to 300-foot-long blades on industrial windmills look almost whimsical from afar. They appear to turn slowly. People sometimes stop to take pictures. "They look cool," said Eric Burch, director of policy and outreach for the Indiana Office of Energy Development. The tips of those giant blades, however, move at speeds approaching 160 mph, creating forces that send low-frequency vibrations through the ground. People three-quarters of a mile away sometimes say they can feel the vibrations in their chests.

Proponents of alternative energy stress the production of alternative sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels. Others recognize the importance of coal to Indiana and prefer to explore development of clean coal technology. In any case, one trend is apparent: Despite widespread acknowledgment of a need to alter habits to protect the environment, many youths are apathetic about changing the status quo.

One thing could slow down or halt the development of wind farms in Indiana, and it's not community opposition, government regulation, shortage of wind or lack of interest by developers. Getting the electricity generated by the wind to actual customers is shaping up as the biggest obstacle, experts said at the second annual WIndiana conference this week.

About 40 persons have organized the Southern Boone Wind Group to negotiate with wind farm developers. Those persons, mostly living in Jackson, southern Jefferson and Harrison townships, own about 4,000 acres, said Kent Frandsen, the group's attorney. ...Before Boone County's wind resource can be harvested, though, the county must eliminate a ban on wind mills and write an ordinance regulating the potentially lucrative turbine farms.

Two European energy companies are locking up land leases for wind farms in Boone County that would bring industrial-size wind turbines into the Indianapolis metro area. One problem: Boone County's zoning laws prohibit wind turbines, so the proposals could ignite the most intense debate yet in Indiana over how to deal with the surging number of wind farms, which up until now have been relegated to rural counties in the northwestern part of the state.

Understanding the basics of contract and property law are critical for Boone County landowners who are asked to lease their property for a wind farm, Indiana Farm Bureau representatives say. Jason Schneider, an IFB attorney, and Kelly L. Kepner, of the Purdue Extension Benton County office, gave a crash course in wind farm development concerns.

Despite having the money allocated in its budget, Logansport Municipal Utilities will hold back on a $43,000 wind energy feasibility study in an area south of the city. At last week's Utility Service Board meeting, board vice president Todd Miller asked for a cost-benefit analysis before LMU moved ahead with the project. Miller said he had to be sure that it was money worth spending given the estimated $3 million cost of erecting a single wind turbine.

Get it in writing. That contractual advice and other tips for those wanting to profit from wind energy were offered Wednesday in Warsaw. Nearly 150 people gathered in the Shrine Building at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds to learn about how commercial wind power can work for them. Turnout matched interest in the topic. Organizers had hoped for 80 to 90 attendees. People came from 16 counties, including Wayne County, Mich.

Following the lead of Benton and White counties to the west, government officials and the local utility company in Cass County are probing the possibility of wind energy here. Commissioner Gene Powlen confirmed the commission's desire to explore how the county fits into the wind energy scheme in Indiana.

About 150 people from 13 Indiana counties and one Michigan county gathered Wednesday in the Shrine Building at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds to talk about wind power. Most in attendance were farmers or other land owners interested in hearing how wind power development in the area could affect them.

A Lafayette-area union claimed a company working on the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in Benton County is using an out-of-state workforce instead of local workers. Members of the Operating Engineers Local 103 were picketing jobsites near Remington and in Benton County.

The wind has died down at Randolph Southern, and that means less money for schools. Plans for a 330-foot wind turbine on the west side of campus are on hold after the manufacturer said it didn't want to place it too close to the school. Now, school officials and consultants from Performance Services of Indianapolis, an engineering and construction company, are hoping to find a site nearby to get the project back on track.

E.ON Climate and Renewables hopes to establish a test tower southeast of Swayzee within the next two months. If results are satisfactory, the company could establish a 60,000-acre wind farm that stretches across four counties, including Grant, within the next three years. Andy Melka, the assistant development manager for E.ON, said the project is still in the planning stages, and it will be two to three years before Grant County residents see any significant construction.

When state and local officials met on Oct. 8 to announce that Illinois-based Brevini would relocate its national headquarters here and create 450 jobs building components for wind turbines, manufacturing was expected to begin in mid-2010. But a Brevini official told The Star Press recently that the nation's economy is among the reasons the plant's construction and start of operations are more likely to be longer in coming.

Winds of alternative energy change for White County picked up force Monday morning, as the White County Commissioners and White County Council approved an economic development agreement with Horizon Wind Energy during their joint session. ...Planning on the installation of 126 wind turbines on 26,000 acres of White County land, Horizon representatives were on hand to discuss the plan with county officials.

Two agricultural organizations will share information on wind farms and what to consider when leasing land to one during a meeting Tuesday. ...Jimmy Bricker, Purdue University Cooperative Extension educator and director from Benton County, is scheduled to discuss what lessons landowners have learned from the wind farms there, Schneider said.

Landowners and community members gathered at Frontier High School Tuesday night to hear about the up and coming Horizon Wind Energy project. Project Manager Martin Culik was joined by several members of Horizon staff, Commissioner Steve Burton and Economic Development Director Connie Neininger to present the Meadow Lake Wind Farm to the community and answer questions.

Renewable energy equipment, such as windmills and solar panels, are cool to look at, but they're not an economically feasible investment for most typical homeowners -- yet. A few renewable energy sources, such as thermal solar systems, can pay for themselves in a few years. But experts say you often get better bang for your buck by lowering your consumption, for instance by insulating your walls better. A few renewable energy sources, such as thermal solar systems, can pay for themselves in a few years. But experts say you often get better bang for your buck by lowering your consumption, for instance by insulating your walls better.

A rural Thorntown couple is concerned a wind turbine farm would harm county residents. ...In researching the downside of commercial wind farms, Fyffe has found some neighbors of the gigantic electrical generators complaining of "vibro-acoustic disease" (VAD) and "wind turbine syndrome." Scientists are researching both VAD and WTS. VAD has been cited in more than 37 peer-reviewed articles in science journals. At dispute is not whether wind towers produce low frequency noise (LFN) that affects health -- it is the susceptibility of persons living near wind farms, according to articles in science journals.