As Florida Power & Light Co. gets closer to a public hearing on its wind turbine plan, skeptics of the project have plenty of questions left unanswered. What about the effect on birds? Or sea turtles? And why put turbines in St. Lucie County in the first place? Nick Blount, external affairs manager for FPL on the Treasure Coast, tried to answer some of those questions from about 20 members of the St. Lucie County Conservation Alliance on Wednesday night and promised to try to find answers to others raised by residents. "I respect people's opinion about our wind project, but what I do want to do is tell our side of the story," Blount said. "That's what we want."

St. Lucie County's John Brooks Park and Frederick Douglass Park are beaches people usually go to relax and enjoy nature. Each public facility is set aside for conservation and recreation, but an ill wind has blown in a new swell of controversy for local surfers - and it's not red tide. It's Florida Power & Light's "Winds of Change" initiative to build nine commercial wind generators along St. Lucie County's remaining desolate beaches that has them all riled up. Standing roughly 412 feet tall, each white cylindrical turbine is almost 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and requires an impact zone of one acre. ..."As far as Surfrider goes, these wind turbines should not be built on land that is set aside for conservation and recreation," said Andy Brady, Fort Pierce surfer and chairman of the Surfrider Foundation's Treasure Coast Chapter. "We're all for alternative energy, but not on public land."

Bowing to public pressure, Florida Power & Light Co. has dropped its plan to put 400-foot-tall wind turbines on public, waterfront parks, company officials said Wednesday. Instead, it wants to build three on land owned by the state and the South Florida Water Management District and six on FPL property at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant. ...Indian River Drive resident Sandy Steinruck said she's still concerned the wind turbine construction will damage valuable wildlife habitat. "We've seen in Colorado the damage and the mess they create," she said.

Jane Brooks, who has been active for 30 years in conservation efforts and worked with her husband for the state to buy the property, said she favors alternative energy sources but not on public beaches. She cited a management plan that says John Brooks Park was purchased to "maintain the land in as natural a state as possible" and to "preserve a section of coastline from further development, protect its native plants and animals and provide recreational opportunities for the people of St. Lucie County." Coward said that allowing wind turbines contradicts promises made to voters when they approved a bond issue to buy beach access for preservation and recreation.