One red balloon will be hoisted high above the Buck Mountain ridge overlooking Black Creek Township this month.

The balloon is part of a test to better visualize what a proposed wind turbine farm will look like.

Black Creek Township has an ordinance that allows the supervisors to request a balloon test for proposed wind farms.

Penn Wind LLC, Sunbury, plans to build 22 wind turbines on the ridge. Four turbines will be in Black Creek Township in Luzerne County and the remaining will be in nearby Beaver Township, Columbia County.

Denise Hubbert, due diligence coordinator at Penn Wind, said the 10-foot-diameter helium balloon will raised 425 feet in the air - the height of the proposed turbines for the farm. Penn Wind, Hubbert said, will take pictures of the balloon from various vantage points.

A legal notice will appear in the Standard-Speaker announcing that the balloon testing will be done Aug. 14, she said. If the weather is too windy or rainy, testing will be held Aug. 17. In addition, adjoining property owners will be sent certified mailings to notify them of the testing.

Penn Wind has a list of about 60 engineering issues from Black Creek Township to address before its plan is granted preliminary approval. Township solicitor Donald Karpowich and Joe Calabrese, township engineer, said most are related to state, county and local permit approvals that the company must submit to the township. Karpowich said the company also needs to note on its plan that the maximum decibel level cannot exceed 75 decibels at the base of a turbine and 40 decibels at the property line.

The supervisors granted Penn Wind a 90-day extension to address the outstanding issues, and Hubbert expects many of them to be resolved in time for the next supervisors meeting on Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Penn Wind can begin construction once it receives preliminary approval, but the firm will have to apply for final approval from Black Creek and Beaver townships. The company can't operate from the site until it receives final approval, which allows municipalities to ensure that construction plans and guidelines are being followed.