Land values have fallen on properties near wind turbines built as part of the largest wind power projects in the state, a study funded by wind-power critics says. The study found property values have fallen by at least 19% for sales of land near the We Energies wind farm in Fond du Lac County, and at least 12% for sales of land near Invenergy LLC's Forward Wind project in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties, a report by Appraisal Group One says.

Cistercian nuns are moving from Prairie du Sac, but a site for a new monastery in the Town of Ridgeville is no longer one of several considered by the religious community. According to Sister Roberta Boyer ...the Ridgeville site, land owned by Ryszard Borys, was taken off the table because of the wind farm situation in the township.

It's a slow process, but for people looking for a green job in the plummeting economy, the jobs are out there. But there's just not too many of them -- not yet, anyway. While electrical workers are thrilled at the prospect of having jobs related to those wind turbines, fewer people are needed to run 100 wind mills -- roughly 20, compared to the hundreds who might be needed to run a coal-fired plant, like the one recently denied by the Wisconsin Public Service commission late last year.

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.

WPSC joins several other utilities that have already sought rate hikes to recover costs for anticipated increases in fuel prices. They include Wisconsin Power and Light, We Energies, WI Gas and Northern States Power. The greatest increase is being sought by We Energies, which is asking for electric rate hikes of about 7.5 percent for 2008 and 7.5 percent for 2009. The company says the money is needed to help pay for its investments in the Blue Sky Green Field wind project in eastern Wisconsin, significant air quality control equipment at the company's existing power plants, new electric generating units at Port Washington and Oak Creek, and construction of transmission upgrades and additions by the American Transmission Co.

Going green may mean that Northern States Power Co. customers will be seeing their electric bills jump by 14.2 percent starting in January 2008. In addition to an increase in electrical rates the company also wants to increase natural gas rates by 4 to 5 percent.

Western Wisconsin may never be a wind energy mecca like southwest Minnesota, northwest Iowa or the Dakotas. But that doesn't mean windmills won't someday dot our skyline. Wind developers - some local, some not - are exploring several projects in the region. So far, there are no done deals, but some developers hope to be building as soon as 2008. In addition to replacing carbon-generated electricity with cleaner, renewable energy, there's money to be made from wind energy for utilities, governments and local land owners.

Wisconsin ranks eighth in the nation in terms of potential job gains that could be linked to an expansion of renewable energy, a report released Tuesday says. The report surveyed sectors of the economy that could be tapped for expansion as development of renewable energy - whether wind, solar, geothermal or biomass - expands.