A combination of setback rules might blow EcoEnergy Engineering LLC's wind farm plan right out of Magnolia. The Elgin, Ill.-based company wants to build a 100-megawatt project that could cover anywhere from 7,000 to 8,000 acres. But the town drafted an ordinance requiring 1,000-foot setbacks from property lines and half-mile setbacks from houses. "The setback would strongly affect where we could build something," said Curt Bjurlin, Wisconsin project developer for EcoEnergy. "But it's still a bit premature to say anything for certain yet." ...Since the Magnolia project looks to break the 100-megawatt mark, the PSC, not the town, will make the final call on the project. Tim Le Monds, the PSC's director of governmental and public affairs, said the PSC would take the town's concerns into consideration and provide opportunities for public comment. ... He also said the PSC will look into the scientific and medical data the Union Township committee researched, but admitted when it comes to large wind farm projects, the PSC refuses little. "I'd say in most cases we pass the projects," Le Monds said. "But you have to realize that we get it from both ends.

The sites under consideration are in the town of Kaukauna and Freedom, and a recent open house sponsored by the three partners in the project drew about 100 people to see displays in the old gym at Freedom High School. The project was initiated by Kaukauna Utilities and Wisconsin Public Power Inc., and all of the power generated by the wind towers will be used locally by Kaukauna Utilities customers. The project, as envisioned, would have up to five wind towers generating 7.5 megawatts of electricity. ...The president of the Kaukauna Utilities Commission, Lee Meyerhofer, said the project is seen as fulfilling part of Gov. Jim Doyle's initiative to have renewable energy sources provide 25 percent of the state's electricity by 2025.

Strict setbacks, designed to curtail the potential health impacts of noise from larger commercial wind turbines, were the centerpiece of discussion at the orderly three-hour hearing before the Clay Banks Wind Energy Committee. Legal issues and spillover impact on farms and other businesses also were addressed. The Clay Banks Wind Energy Committee spent about 10 months researching the proposal, which was reviewed by Glenn Stoddard, an Eau Claire attorney who specializes in wind-related issues. ...Guy Fortin, a town of Egg Harbor resident representing CWE, responded to a series of setbacks in the proposal for large commercial wind turbines, including a half-mile from homes and at least one mile from parks and recreational properties. "Simply put, the half-mile setback from residences would completely eliminate commercial wind turbines," Fortin said.

Lake Michigan might give Wisconsin the edge it needs when competing with other states for wind farm developments. The state goes head-to-head with other states for wind farms, just as it does for manufacturing plants or offices, so Wisconsin is seeing if developers can make more money building wind turbines in the lake than they could on land in Iowa or Minnesota. Studies show Lake Michigan is windy in the right way: Its gusts pick up at the same times during the day that residents use more electricity, said Alex Depillis, engineer-wind monitor for EcoEnergy, Madison. But wind farm developers must balance the increased wind against the cost of construction, which is higher in the middle of a lake than on land, Depillis said.

A proposed wind ordinance that would keep wind turbines a half-mile from any home could be up for its first vote Thursday in Magnolia Township. ...The board decided to use the draft ordinance put together by the Town of Union Wind Study Committee, which spent five months researching wind energy, said Gordon Klitzman, Magnolia planning and zoning member. "We thought that was probably a better idea (than the state's model draft ordinance)," he said. "Otherwise, we were kind of going by what the state said, but they didn't have any facts to back it up."

State energy regulators, long known for making decisions on how much utility customers pay and whether utilities can build new power plants and transmission lines, are expanding their reach. The Public Service Commission will soon be involved in issues relating to global warming, from a study of whether to put wind turbines in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior to an evaluation of ways the state can cut energy use to reduce power plant emissions. The agency has just kicked off five different proceedings to address recommendations made by the task force on global warming appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle.

State regulators want to study what it would take to implant giant wind turbines in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, a move that might someday lead to new power for Wisconsin but cost millions of dollars and transform serene lake views. The three-member Public Service Commission voted unanimously Thursday to begin assessing whether the concept can be executed, the power it could generate, the costs and public sentiment. "There's enough unanswered questions that it's a matter of public policy. We should explore it," said Eric Callisto, commission Chairman Dan Ebert's executive assistant. "The economics have to dictate this makes sense. But right now we're in something of an information vacuum."

State regulators want to study what it would take to implant giant wind turbines in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, a move that might someday lead to new power for Wisconsin but cost millions of dollars and transform serene lake views. The three-member Public Service Commission voted unanimously Thursday to begin assessing whether the concept can be executed, the power it could generate, the costs and public sentiment. "There's enough unanswered questions that it's a matter of public policy. We should explore it," said Eric Callisto, commission Chairman Dan Ebert's executive assistant. "The economics have to dictate this makes sense. But right now, we're in something of an information vacuum."

A wind farm developer plans to put five 400-foot turbines in either the Town of Kaukauna or the Town of Freedom. EcoEnergy, the developer, will host a public open house from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Freedom High School. The company, which is headquartered in Freeport, Ill., is also developing two projects in Calumet County. The Outagamie County project will cost about $15 million. ...Freedom Town Chairman Tim Maass said Tuesday he doesn't know of anything in the town's zoning ordinance that would govern wind energy or turbine placement, and while the Town Board has talked about the venture, it hasn't taken any action or formulated a position.

Farmers considering whether to install a wind turbine to generate their own electricity likely will face prohibitive county laws and opposition from area residents, a wind energy expert said on Thursday. With a few exceptions, "if there has been controversy in your neighborhood about a wind farm, people are not going to let you put up a 100-foot tower," said Jenny Heinzen, an instructor specializing in wind turbines at Lakeshore Technical College. ...Emerging Energies is proposing a seven-turbine wind farm in the town of Mishicot. The plan has been met with criticism, and in April 2007 the project was derailed after an opposition group won a civil suit filed to void a county conditional use permit granted to Emerging Energies.

A member of the Ad Hoc Committee which helped study Calumet County's existing wind energy ordinance and make recommendations for changes is commending the County Board for its votes last week. Ron Dietrich, who has studied wind energy in depth and has urged local officials to be cautious about allowing wind turbines in Calumet County, said, "We applaud the county supervisors for putting the citizens of Calumet County ahead of the state interest. There is considerable pressure on communities to follow the state's recommendations of turbine placement. Our research found the standards developed by the PSC's staff for noise and setbacks were insufficient in regard to health and safety issues."

Calumet County Board supervisors approved changes to the county's wind ordinance when they met last Tuesday, March 18. Among the biggest changes to Chapter 79 of the county's ordinances is boosting the setback distance for wind turbines from the existing 1,000 feet to 1,800 feet. Public participation at the meeting included residents from the New Holstein area speaking to the 1,800-foot setback requirement. Speakers said they felt citizens surrounding the farm property no longer had a voice. Implications of not passing the ordinance will have self evident effects," one speaker said. The construction of wind turbines was described as "the most contentious issue" this county has faced in years.

We Energies is facing a 15-yard penalty of sorts after a resident flagged the power company for building a wind turbine too close to his home. Local ordinances require that wind towers be erected at least 1,000 feet from a neighboring house, but a series of mistakes ended up with the tower being built 47 feet too close to Bill Winkler's home. Winkler couldn't be reached for comment. His brother, Mike Winkler, was among the most vocal opponents of the We Energies 88-turbine wind power project.

Proposals to build the turbines were floated five years ago, and the projects became controversial. Some homeowners worried that the towers would dramatically change the rural landscape, and they raised concerns about noise and other potential problems. ...Former resident Mike Winkler has a different view. A vocal opponent of what he calls a "windustrial park," he lobbied hard against construction of the wind farm. He considers wind towers to be eyesores that have wrecked the landscape on the family farm where he grew up. His experience prompted him to write a novella called "Wind Power . . . It Blows!" Winkler moved to Malone, eight miles away from the Town of Marshfield. "Now I avoid the area altogether," he said. "Instead of it being a trip down nostalgia lane, I just don't want to even see it."

Board of Supervisors enacts wind turbine siting regulations including comprehensive sound level limits and safety setbacks.

It can fight all it wants, but Calumet County will get a wind farm, said Peter Dorn. "It's just a matter of time," said Dorn, a member of the county's Planning, Zoning and Farmland Preservation Committee. "Any time the state government steps in and recognizes its dealing with a big industry, local control is going to end." The state recognized it with wind farms, and even though legislation to establish statewide standards for approving wind farm development failed to survive the State Senate last week, Dorn said he knows it will be back when the new legislative session starts in January. "It just delayed it a year," he said. "That's all."

A wind energy firm planning to develop turbine fields in Calumet County says it is no longer going through local regulation to get the project approved. Instead, Curt Bjulin, Wisconsin project manager for EcoEnergy, said his firm is seeking approval from the state Public Service Commission for the project in the towns of Chilton and Rantoul. This is the latest salvo in a battle that's gone on for nearly two years between wind farm developers and Calumet County residents who fear the effects dozens of 400-foot turbines will have on neighbors' lives and health.

Legislation that would have given the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin exclusive jurisdiction over the siting of wind energy turbines died in the state Senate on Wednesday. "We voted and there was an amendment to have a citizens' review committee, much like the farm siting bill," Sen. Alan Lasee, R-Rockland, said. Because of the proposed amendment, Lasee said the proposal -- in the form of Senate Bill 544 -- bill was sent back to committee, effectively killing it for this year. ...A wind energy firm planning to develop turbine fields in the town of Chilton and Rantoul in Calumet County has decided to no longer go through local regulation to get the project approved. Curt Bjulin, Wisconsin project manager for EcoEnergy LLC, said his firm is now going through the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to get the project approval.

High Country Energy LLC, a community-based wind energy development located in Olmsted and Dodge counties, announced on Friday that it has sold a 150 megawatt portion of its wind farm to Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, based in Green Bay, Wis. The High County Energy project, which is managed by National Wind LLC and will be located in both Dodge and Olmsted counties, allows landowners to invest in the project. Since National Wind is a minority owner, most of the proceeds from the sale will go to High Country Energy landowners, National Wind co-chairman Patrick Pelstring said.

Town of Union wind study committee chair Tom Alisankus said he thinks legislators heard citizens' calls to take a longer look at the issue. "People were actually no longer just listening to what was being told to them by the wind energy proponents," he said. "They were actually looking at things like the research we did, the actual facts that have been surfaced." Vinehout said it's time to bring the sponsors of the bill and its opponents together to revise the bill and develop a good policy and political decision.