Landowners prepare for turbines' arrival - As wind energy project nears construction, local views remain mixed
Kopetsky recently signed a 20-year contract with Navitas Energy Inc. of Minneapolis to site a pair of 320-foot, two-megawatt wind turbines on his property.
They will be among 49 wind towers Navitas will erect that will change the landscape in the towns of Mishicot and Two Creeks.
Navitas survived a recent court challenge to the project, filed by local opponents. The company will develop a specific timeline for construction in the near future, according to Christopher Moore, Navitas managing director.
The elder Kopetsky had purchased 110 acres of farmland in the town of Mishicot two years after selling to the nuclear interests, to continue his livelihood.
"We weren't against the nuclear plant, but … life moves on," Dale Kopetsky said. "Some people are against change and things change. The nuclear plant changed our lives and the wind turbines will change our lives and other people's lives."
The incentive is mainly economic, he said.
The contract with Navitas will pay Kopetsky $9,000 a year for the next 20 years. One turbine will be placed near his barn and the other along Two Creeks Road.
Moore said each Manitowoc County landowner signing a contract with Navitas for the project would be paid the same amount per turbine. The rate is $4,500, according to Kopetsky.
Another company, Emerging Energies LLP from Hubertus, will build seven turbines in the town of Mishicot in a separate project.
Manitowoc County and towns will be paid to host the Navitas wind turbines, according to Moore, under the state's shared revenue program. The state taxes wind projects above 50 megawatts, then returns a portion of the revenue to local units of government hosting the turbines.
Moore said Manitowoc County would likely receive $228,000 a year, the town of Mishicot $50,000, the town of Two Creeks $70,000 annually and the town of Two Rivers $10,000.
Neighbors who disagree
The developments in northern Manitowoc County have at times created friction between neighbors.
Proponents see the turbines as a way to provide renewable energy while giving landowners a source of income. Critics say the turbines will drive down property values. They also contend the turbines have unresolved safety issues that could put residents in danger.
Howard Wachsmuth, 2328 Stoney Road, Mishicot, envisioned much smaller turbines when he learned, in late 2004, that his neighbor Ron Kakes, 15735 Saxonburg Road, Mishicot, would be installing two Navitas units.
Wachsmuth, a maintenance electrician at Point Beach Nuclear Plant, thought they would be the size of the turbine at Lakeshore Technical College — 110 feet. Navitas turbines will be nearly three times that high.
Wachsmuth, a member of Wisconsin Independent Citizens Opposing Windturbine Sites (WINDCOWS), which filed the lawsuit against Navitas, is concerned the turbines will diminish the value of his land.
"I'm figuring my property will lose close to 50 percent of its value and I think it will stay down there for a long time," he said.
Wachsmuth also thinks the turbines will be too concentrated in one area and be too close to roads.
"We moved out here 10 years ago because it was a nice and quiet place, and now it'll turn into an industrial park," he said.
Kakes, who owns 240 acres, said he had initial concerns about ice throw, strobing and the turbines' ability to withstand strong winds, but Navitas assured him that those problems were unlikely.
And he doesn't believe property valued will decline.
"I tracked the turbines in Kewaunee County and their property values have gone up or remained the same, but they haven't gone down at all," he said.
Kakes has not discussed the turbines with Wachsmuth, but he has spoken to other neighbors.
"Some are OK with it and some are not OK with it," he said. "Some people argue against the aesthetics the turbines would have on the land, but the power plant has high telephone poles and no one mentions that."
Neighbors who agree
Brian Bohman, 12428 Saxonburg Road, Mishicot, met with Emerging Energies officials two years ago to talk about a wind turbine on his property.
"The company came out to my house and talked about the turbine and had a Power Point presentation and went through the whole works," Bohman said.
Bohman said the wind turbines would benefit property owners.
"We're just going to lease a piece of property that they will need to build the turbine," he said. "Think about the amount of land that you need — 50 feet by 50 feet — to generate all of this electricity."
Bohman is still finalizing his lease agreement with the company and would not disclose how much he would be paid. He said the extra income would help offset some of his own high energy costs.
Bohman's neighbor, John Zelewske, 2110 Benzinger Road, Mishicot, was ecstatic to hear that Bohman would have a turbine on his property. Zelewske considered one on his own land but discovered .75 acres wasn't large enough to hold a turbine and still meet regulations.
"We thought it was way past due," Zelewske said. "We have the technology to optimize our environmental resources without doing any other damage to other resources, so why not."
Zelewske said he had initial concerns about the turbines creating shadow flicker, noise and flying ice. He reserved judgment, however, until after he took a course on wind energy at Lakeshore Technical College and viewed the WE Energies' Byron turbines on U.S. Highway 41 south of Fond du Lac.
"I found out that those concerns where overestimated, out of proportion," he said.