If commercial wind power becomes a reality in Washington County, county planners want to be ready. Planning Board members for the past few months have been receiving research from the planning department on general concerns involved with commercial wind operations. What precipitated it was the approval of conditional use permits for towers in the county to test the feasibility of commercial wind power.

The Benton County Quorum Court should consider adopting regulations for wind farms before any more developers seek to construct them, said Benton County Planning Director Ashley Pope. ...The proposed ordinance will address turbines' shadows and how shadow movements affect neighbors' quality of life. Other issues include creating buffers, controlling noise and protecting areas around historic sites.

Washington County Planning Director Juliet Richey says she has recently received inquiries concerning wind farms. "We've had a couple people approach us about wind farms," Richey told the Planning Board Thursday. While nothing firm has been proposed to go before the Washington County Planning Board & Zoning Board of Adjustments, Richey talked about the need to research wind farms and come up with some guidelines for them.