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.

A moratorium on construction of industrial wind turbines continues in Calumet County. On Jan. 15, the county board approved a 70-day moratorium, the third one enacted since the board began studying the issue in 2003. Wind turbines have become a contentious issue between wind-energy companies and farmers in support, and other farmers and county residents in opposition. A news release from RENEW Wisconsin states the moratorium in Calumet County and restrictive ordinances in Manitowoc County have halted four wind projects totaling 200 megawatts, enough to power 60,000 homes.

Dozens of Calumet County residents have expressed worry about how noise and vibration from the huge turbines will affect adjoining property owners. "We need to take our time, because if we don't do it right we're not going to be able to change it in the future," Supv. Alice Connors said. "This is a very, very important decision, and I think we need this moratorium to learn from our neighbors." Others suggested a long moratorium would just drag out what has already been a long process. Opponents have demanded tougher restrictions since the county adopted the existing ordinance in mid-2006.

...largely fruitless debate over recommended changes to its ordinance regulating wind energy, the board passed a 70-day ban on permits for wind turbines. ...Ron Dietrich, a member of the committee that proposed the changes, which would increase the distance between turbines and houses, schools, hospitals and other structures, said he was disappointed the longer moratorium didn’t pass, but glad the board hadn’t rejected the committee’s recommendations.

Invenergy Wind LLC plans to have 86 turbines operating by May at the $250 million Forward Wind Energy Center. Mick Baird, project manager for the Chicago-based firm, said General Electric has started commissioning and testing 34 turbines throughout the 50-square-mile project area in northern Dodge and southern Fond du Lac counties.

Although they have lost more than one battle in the war to keep wind turbines from encroaching on the nearby Horicon Marsh, a local environmental group vows to fight for wildlife until the end. "We plan to monitor the project and bring news of bird kills to the attention of the media and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to push for charges in accordance with the Bird Migratory Treaty Act," said Curt Kindschuh, public information officer for Horicon Marsh Systems Advocates. "The death of Sandhill cranes, Canada geese, eagles, hawks, any migratory bird at all could result in significant state and federal fines for Invenergy or the hosting landowners."

Rising up out of the winter weary farm fields, 400-foot tall wind turbines south of Oakfield stand like white sentinels against the azure sky, the seven-ton blades like arms outstretched from the tower base. To some the 269-ton wind turbines represent the flagship of renewable energy resources in Wisconsin, while others claim wind farms are nothing more than a pipe dream and a blight on the landscape.

"We moved far enough out into the country and had to buy 35 acres to build a house," said Tony Moyer of Dotyville. "We thought not in our life would we have to worry about the city or a highway passing by our home. We now will be staring at this ugly wind turbine right out our back door. Go to the front porch with your cup of coffee and sit there and what do you know, here is another ugly tower in the front of my dream home. Our fellow greedy neighbors, all of whom are farmers that are supposed keepers of the land, sold out to easy money."

Residents in some Calumet County towns have spent the last two years jousting with developers and major landowners over huge wind turbines on titanic wind farms. The sparring is set to culminate Tuesday, when the Calumet County Board considers a special committee’s recommendations to tighten the county’s rules about where developers can put wind turbines — proposals designed to temper 400-foot wind turbines’ effects on neighbors’ lives.

A local group wants to explore using wind turbines to generate power in Sauk County and will hear from wind power advocates during a Jan. 12 public meeting. ...But wind power isn't immune to criticism. A 133-turbine project near the Horicon Marsh drew opposition from some Dodge and Fond du Lac county citizens in 2005 and is still controversial. ...The trick is finding a spot that's not controversial, said Judy Spring, volunteer coordinator for Sustain Sauk County. She said the location of the Horicon Marsh wind farm doesn't make sense. "It would be like saying, 'Let's put (a wind farm) in the Baraboo hills,'" she said. "That would just be dumb."

What constitutes protection of public health and safety for siting and operating 400-foot industrial wind turbines with capacities of 1.65 to 2 megawatts? That question stirred lots of activity and animosity in Calumet County in 2007. ...Among the common themes were unacceptable noise levels that disrupted sleeping and other activities, shadowing and flickering inside residences, health problems and attitude changes in their families, loss of property value, interference with television reception and Internet services, and refusal by wind energy system owner/operators to deal with complaints. Concerns specific to Calumet County included protection of groundwater in a very sensitive geological area, flight corridors for medical helicopters between Chilton and Fox Cities hospitals and sheriff and state patrol microwave relay pathways.

SPRING VALLEY TOWNSHIP - When Kevin and Lynda Kawula first heard about a wind farm proposal for Magnolia Township, they thought it sounded like a good idea. But as they attended meetings and researched the issue, their opinions changed. "It seemed like enough people were concerned that we got concerned," he said. ...The Kawulas visited the Montfort wind farm in Iowa County. It has 20 turbines with 30 megawatts of capacity. "It's like moving back into a metropolitan area," he said. "It's an airport where the planes never land." Being around the turbines and high voltage power lines make Kevin feel physically ill with pressure headaches, he said.

Concluding a series of public hearings, Sawyer County supervisors on Dec. 20 adopted an updated floodplain zoning ordinance. They also passed a wind energy ordinance allowing turbines of various sizes to be placed on private properties with a zoning permit. ...The county’s wind energy ordinance allows four types of wind energy systems ...Christman noted that large wind energy systems and wind farms could be located only in areas zoned for agriculture, forestry or industry on parcels of five acres or more. The Wisconsin Towns Association-Sawyer County Unit asked that affected town boards have the opportunity to approve/deny such wind energy permits.

An ordinance to regulate wind energy systems should be on the books in the town of Morrison by early January. ...At the hearing, a representative of a company seeking to build wind turbines in southern Brown County said he had few problems with the proposed ordinance, including St. Peter's suggested additions to fine-tune it.

County Board Chairman Merlin Gentz appointed the committee to advise him after months of controversy over 400-foot wind turbines two developers want to erect in the towns of Chilton, Stockbridge and Brothertown. Among its recommendations are: prohibiting "flicker" from the turbines on roads with daily traffic counts of 500 or more; requiring 1,800 feet between turbines and homes, schools, parks and businesses; and limiting noise. ...Gentz formed the committee after the county imposed a 120-day moratorium on turbine permits in September. He attempted to appoint an equal mix of wind proponents and skeptics to the group, which met 10 times.

After 14 months of deliberation, the Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors voted 10-6 Monday night for a controversial zoning ordinance that developers say stifles commercial wind energy development. The ordinance, which wind advocates and opponents believe may be the strictest in the nation, was based on health and safety concerns as well as quality of life, said a citizens' committee that drafted the ordinance. The 16-page ordinance requires turbines over 150 feet high - most commercial wind towers are about 300 feet - to be at least a mile from the nearest home and a half-mile from neighboring property lines. Additional setbacks keep turbines away from roads, railroads, wildlife refuges and other places.

A special committee's recommendations for governing wind energy will make it impossible to farm wind in Calumet County, a developer said today. County Board Chairman Merlin Gentz appointed the committee to advise him after months of controversy over 400-foot wind turbines two developers want to erect in the towns of Chilton, Stockbridge and Brothertown. Among its recommendations are prohibiting "flicker" from the turbines on roads with daily traffic counts of 500 or more, requiring 1,800 feet between turbines and homes, schools, parks and businesses and limiting noise. Any one of those restrictions would jeopardize the project EcoEnergy LLC plans, Wisconsin Projects Director Curt Bjurlin said.

Wind energy has become a divisive issue for Trempealeau County's residents over the past 14 months. The county board will vote Monday on a third draft of a wind ordinance they've been wrestling with since investment group AgWind Energy Partners approached the board in September 2006 with a request to look at three potential sites to build four to six turbines. The proposed ordinance is stricter than the previous two. It would require turbines to be at least a mile from all habitable structures and a half-mile from property lines. Among more than 30 other restrictions is a requirement that the noise from the turbines can't exceed 40 decibels when measured at any residence.

The project's official name is "Capacity Expansion by 2020," or "CapX2020" for short. It is being driven by an alliance of 11 different utility companies throughout the region, which covers all of Minnesota as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. The power line planned for this area is one of three 345 kV lines proposed at different areas of the state as part of the the CapX2020 project. The project also includes construction of one 230 kV line between Bemidji and Grand Rapids. A public hearing for residents of this area is scheduled for next Tuesday, in Cannon Falls. It is one of many meetings still to come during the CapX2020 planning process. ...Rate payers from all area power utility companies will see an increase in their bills as a result of the CapX2020 construction, he added. Though Fordice could not put a specific amount on how much the increase to utility bills will be - probably $1.50 to $2 a month - the project itself is going to cost $1.4 billion, which will be divided among all 11 utility companies.

We found there are no set regulations for the air medical industry in regards to wind turbines other than they're treated like any other obstacle such as cell phone towers, electrical lines, cranes, etc. in that they are "avoided" in flight. This means you typically don't fly directly over them at low altitudes and don't fly in close proximity. The FAA and the DOT had no specific recommendations, but are concerned about placement near private airports that aren't governed by their agencies. There is also some concern in counties where the plan is to place scattered wind turbines as opposed to a linear placement as you see more in the western part of the state. In a linear placement, the location of the towers is somewhat more predictable, although often only the towers on the parameters of the line are required to be lit.