We Energies filed an application today with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) for authorization tobuild the Glacier Hills Wind Park. The proposed wind park would be located in the towns of Randolph and Scott in northeast Columbia County -- approximately 45 miles northeast of Madison. Current plans call for the project to consist of up to 90 wind turbines that would generate as much as 207 megawatts of electricity.

Invenergy, one of the large wind energy firms proposing to erect large windmills in the area, is bypassing the town and the ordinance it enacted to regulate wind farms. Morrison town zoning administrator Joy Koomen said Invenergy is seeking permits from the state rather than going through the town. ..."I am not happy," town chairman Todd Christensen said.

Attempts to attract wind farm developments to the Great Lakes could pit Wisconsin against Michigan. John Hummer, project manager for the Great Lakes Consortium for International Training and Development, an Ann Arbor Mich.-based group, said once a uniform set of rules for wind farms has been adopted by the Great Lakes states, competition for farms could kick into gear. While setting the regulatory framework for offshore wind generation is the task at hand, competing for wind isn't far off, some say.

Wind Capital Group, headquartered in St. Louis, wants to build about 60 towers -- 400-feet high from the base to the tip of blade -- in portions of three townships: Smelser, Paris and Hazel Green. The proposed White Oak Wind Farm would have a total capacity of 100 megawatts. Wind Capital Group is working on development of future projects totaling more than 1,400 megawatts in 10 states. ...Opinions clashed at a contentious Smelser town meeting in late September attended by more than 150 people. Township residents voted overwhelmingly, 78-21, in favor on a nine-month moratorium on the project.

Making electricity from wind turbines in the middle of Lake Michigan is technologically feasible but would cost up to twice as much as land-based wind farms, a state study released Friday says. The study found there are "significant technological challenges" that would have to be overcome to build wind-power projects in deeper sections of the lake, where wind speeds are greater and more power could be generated. But more research is needed, particularly to get better data on wind speeds in the middle of Lake Michigan and also to track bird migration patterns over the lake.

As Wisconsin harnesses more energy from wind, American Transmission Co. LLC admits it still doesn't know how to spread out that power. ...The question then becomes whether local municipalities, some of which are reluctant to allow wind farms, will approve a project that not only brings turbines, but also new power lines. "I think that will be addressed with landowners before it would be with a town," said David Olsen, a supervisor for the town of Magnolia, which recently passed an ordinance with half-mile setback rules for wind farms. "But if it's something that adds onto the cost of the project, and that cost is then passed on to the consumer, it could make these projects very expensive," Olsen said.

Despite local opposition and a moratorium on wind farm development, the town of Union might approve construction of a wind-measurement tower. "It doesn't make any sense to me," said Lynda Barry-Kawula, who lives near Magnolia in Spring Valley. She is against wind farm development in Rock County. "The point of a moratorium is to stop development," she said, "and it's not like this tower could lead to anything else." The town's Plan Commission on Thursday night was scheduled to discuss approving Elgin, Ill.-based EcoEnergy Engineering LLC's application to build the almost 200-foot tower.

Manitowoc County planners voted 6-1 Monday to support changes in the county's small wind turbine ordinance, which some property owners say is unnecessarily strict. The Planning and Park Commission vote would eliminate a 1,000-foot setback requirement and designate areas where the turbines would be allowed. The proposed revisions now go to the Manitowoc County Board at a yet-to-be-determined date for discussion and a possible vote, said Mike Demske, Planning and Park Commission director.

EcoEnergy wants to erect a wind measurement tower in Union Township despite a town ordinance in the works that would eliminate nearly all suitable locations for wind turbines. "We're very interested in putting up this wind measure to evaluate wind resources in that area," said Curt Bjurlin, EcoEnergy project developer. EcoEnergy has proposed building three turbines in the township with Wisconsin Public Power Inc. to supply power to Evansville Water and Light customers.

Lynda Kawula never expected she'd end up with a second job as a wind farm researcher, publishing a Web site opposing wind farm plans in Rock County. She's now expanding her site, "Better Plan, Rock County," at www.betterplan.squarespace.com, to include video interviews with residents who live among Wisconsin's newest wind farms in the Fond du Lac area. ..."It's turbines all the time in our house," she jokes.

Today Governor Jim Doyle and four other Midwest Governors announced the creation of a regional transmission planning effort that will promote regional electric transmission investment and cost sharing. The Upper Midwest Transmission Development Initiative will identify wind generation resources, transmission projects and infrastructure needed to support those resources in a cost-effective manner.

The village of Cambria is about two miles south, and downhill, from the nearest wind turbines proposed as part of the WE Energies Randolph Wind Farm. ...because the northeast Columbia County location of the proposed wind farm is not far from Cambria, WE officials are making the rounds of communities and towns in the vicinity to answer residents' questions about the project, said Walter "Doc" Musekamp, WE Energies local affairs representative.

Although the 400-foot turbines can sometimes delay air medical rescues, emergency personnel are trained to cope artfully with such situations, said Claire Rayford, spokesperson for Flight for Life ...The pilot decides what is safe and makes a decision based on many different factors at the time of the incident, Rayford said.

While Randolph's chairman is optimistic about a 145-megawatt wind farm development, he's bothered by how much money - or rather how little - the town will get in the deal. ...Under the Wisconsin Department of Revenue's shared revenue utility payment guidelines, $2,000 per megawatt of power generated is split between the county and town. The county gets two-thirds, while the town gets one-third. For a 145-megawatt project, that would provide roughly $96,667 per year to be split between the towns of Randolph and Scott, which also would house some We Energies' turbines, while the county would take in about $193,332.

Property owners in Manitowoc County installing small wind turbines likely won't be required to own large lots of land to locate their energy-generating systems, according to proposed county ordinance revisions supported by members of a county commission. The Manitowoc County Planning and Park Commission voted unanimously at its Monday meeting in favor of the proposed revisions, said Mike Demske, commission director.

For several years, wind energy production has been an issue of debate in Monroe County. In 2006, the county passed an ordinance on wind turbines, but for some, the ordinance wasn't enough. Several townships in Monroe County have passed wind energy ordinances of their own this summer to create more specific guidelines on the location and decibel levels of wind turbines. ...While the issue of wind power in Monroe County will likely continue, the option of wind farms is a possibility. Now, in several townships, there will be increased regulation.

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.

It's a plan, not everyone is thrilled about. On a stretch of land, just southwest of Fond du Lac, Curt Kindschuh lives near a windmill farm. It's an area where Flight for Life and Theda Star say landing could be extremely tough, and that's why pilots are being told to avoid it, even if there's an emergency.

The modern windmills may create clean energy but they are a clear and present danger to air ambulances. Milwaukee-based Flight for Life has notified first responders in Fond du Lac County that air ambulances will not land near the windmill clusters here. "They are up in the air," said Flight for Life's Claire Rayford. "We have to be aware of them. Depending on how high they are, they may not be lit."