Milwaukee-based WE Energies wants to build a 90-turbine, 234-megawatt wind farm located between the Columbia County villages of Cambria and Friesland. ... The project would gather power from up to 90 turbines, each with a half-acre footprint, by using up to 50 miles of 50-foot-wide corridors for collector cables. Twenty miles of permanent roads would be used to access the turbine sites, according to the application.

The wind turbine is a symbol of an alternative to an oil-based economy. But on radar, it looks like a storm. That has raised concerns that a proliferation of wind farms could result in the appearance of severe weather where there is none, and even false weather alerts. That collision of weather and wind technology adds some new dimensions to this year's tornado season, which officially kicks off this week with Severe Weather Awareness Week.

Tim and Robyn Wood don't have to sweat over the electric bills for their Oregon home. More often than not, their utility company - Wisconsin Power & Light of Madison - pays them for electricity. With a 24-panel solar array for electricity, a separate solar panel system for the water heater and a small wind turbine, the Woods' home is still connected to the state's grid of electric transmission lines. But for the most part, the Woods power their own lights, laundry machines, computers, television and other household appliances. "I use power whenever it's cloudy out and there's no wind. But when the wind is blowing and the sun is shining, I make enough power that I can turn my meter backward," Tim Wood said.

The La Porte County Board of Zoning Appeals approved the request of La Crosse Farms Wind Project LLC to install the second tower at a meeting Tuesday night. The towers will collect data over the next few years to see if the area would support a wind turbine farm.

Alliant Energy has received unanimous approval to build a large wind farm in Fond du Lac County, although the utility still has to decide how it will finance the project. The state Public Service Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved the Cedar Ridge Wind Farm for Wisconsin Power & Light Co. -- Alliant's state utility unit. It will be the first wind farm owned by the company.

MADISON, Wis. Wisconsin Power and Light Company today filed an application with state regulators to develop a Fond du Lac County wind farm project. The project consists of about 40 wind turbines across 12-point-two square miles in the towns of Eden and Empire. The wind farm would generate enough electricity to power 20-thousand 500 homes.

TOWN OF WRIGHTSTOWN — A representative of Invenergy LLC told the town of Wrightstown Plan Commission Wednesday that it wants to put up high-tech wind turbines to generate electricity in five towns in rural southern Brown County.

By the time you read this column, the Monroe County Board will have taken action on amending the county zoning ordinance. And likely the division between neighbors over the issue will unfortunately be deeper.

The winds of change are blowing steadily on Friesland Road in northeast Columbia County as two major players in energy — Midwest Renewable Energy Corp. and FPL Energy, an affiliate of Florida Power and Light — each plan to construct wind farms in 2008. For the past three years, both renewable energy companies have been courting farmers in that area to lease land for the construction of wind turbines. The leases under option agreements run between 20 and 25 years long for farmers who decide to sign with either company.

The Assembly endorsed 94-0 an energy bill that would require 10% of the state's electricity to be generated by wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable energy sources by 2015.

GLENMORE - The concerns aired by residents Tuesday night in response to Tom Mattson's wind-turbine proposal were nothing new - noise pollution, decreasing property values and liability. The board will discuss and vote on the project at its June 4 meeting. But as with previous wind-turbine proposals that went before the town for permits, residents wanted assurances from Tom Mattson of Suamico-based Prelude LLC that the seven turbines he wants to build will have a minimal effect on their community, health and property value.

Proponents of generating more electricity from self- sustaining resources like wind, landfill gases and water are promising big things for Wisconsin's economy if they get their way.

Across Wisconsin, smaller-scale wind developers like Winn say super-restrictive local ordinances are suffocating their businesses. Now lawmakers are stepping in with a bill that calls for the three-person Public Service Commission to create statewide rules. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure Tuesday. Supporters argue the Democratic-authored legislation will streamline wind farm permits ...Opponents consider the measure a power-grab and fear regulators will approve projects to meet the 10 percent renewable mark, ignoring the turbines' effects on neighbors' health and quality of life.

Michael Vickerman, Executive Director at Renew Wisconsin, said, "Small wind farm proposals currently are forced to wade through a quagmire of overly restrictive local ordinances during the zoning and permitting stages of the projects. Many of these local ordinances were designed by small groups of wind opponents to specifically prevent the construction of turbines in the area. This bill puts smaller wind developments on a fair track for consideration and approval.

Either way, the sound of wind turbines is making more ears perk up as a bill moves forward in the Legislature that would empower the Public Service Commission to create statewide rules governing wind power and pre-empt local government control over their placement. The rules would govern the distance between turbines and homes along with their noise and the flicker effects of shadows from their turbine blades.

"We can't build a 21st century energy infrastructure by digging in our heels," Senator Randy Hopper said. "This legislation will ensure that interested parties from all over our state can take part in developing the Public Service Commission's guidelines."

Trempealeau County believes a threat of a lawsuit over wind turbines might be a bunch of hot air. A little more than a month after the Trempealeau County Board passed one of the most restrictive wind ordinances in the country, the developers seeking to build a wind farm have now told the board to revise or they'll sue. A Madison, Wis., law firm representing AgWind Energy Partners sent the county board a letter Jan. 14 stating the county's zoning ordinance that governs the placement, height and noise of wind turbines is illegal because it contradicts the state's model in several ways. Zoning director Kevin Lein said the letter is threatening, but has no substance. "The consensus was to let it go for now," Lein said.

The status of the Blue Sky Green Field Wind Farm has generated a lot of hot air from locals, but operator We Energies said the 88 turbines haven't started generating power. Blue Sky Green Field remains under construction as We Energies tests the turbines, said company spokesman Barry McNulty. ...Manthey also said We Energies has come to a resolution with landowner Bill Winkler regarding a turbine that was placed 36-feet too close to his home. Ordinances require wind turbines be placed at least 1,000 feet from homes.

Among agenda items that moved quickly through the docket during the July 21 Calumet County Board of Supervisors meeting was verbal discourse on the moratorium on wind energy development. As reported previously in the Tri-County News, the District 2 Court of Appeals in Waukesha ruled that local governments cannot make broad-based rules controlling wind turbine projects. Given the July 15 decision ...the board voted to postpone development of wind energy facilities in Calumet County.

MANITOWOC – The Manitowoc County Board approved a new large wind energy ordinance Wednesday, the culmination of a year of work.