Talk of the proposed wind farm again breezed into Ellis County Commission chambers Monday morning. The final decision, however, has been postponed until early September. Dennis R. Davidson, county counselor for the application, requested additional time to prepare, county chairman Vernon Berens said. "We'll meet with our attorney this week and set up a date," Berens said. "Tentatively, we've set up a date for Sept. 4. The bottom line is we'll make a decision." Iberdrola drafted a six-page document of conditions the company is prepared to offer, provided the county grants the conditional-use zoning permit.

Commissioners discussed progress toward a final decision regarding the proposed wind farm southwest of Hays at Monday's Ellis County Commission meeting. Keith Pfannenstiel, who resides on Mount Pleasant Road, asked the county commissioners when they expect to vote on the issue. "We don't have a definite date set yet, but I would say maybe the 27th of August or the Tuesday after Labor Day," said Chairman Vernon Berens.

Longtime Greensburg resident and community leader Bob Mosier announced late Tuesday afternoon he'd just received word from Tom Fieler of Clipper Wind, Inc. that agreement has been reached between his firm and Westar Energy of Topeka to build a 105 megawatt electricity-generating wind farm on the same site south of Mullinville previously considered by KCP&L for a similar facility in 2005. That contract was eventually awarded to a site surrounding the town of Spearville.

El Paso County commissioners will hear plans today for a major power transmission project that will sweep the southeastern corner of the county. The Eastern Plains Transmission Project aims at constructing 1,000 miles of power lines reaching as tall as 14 stories that could eventually link power on Colorado's eastern plains to southwestern Kansas. It would cut across some of the best wind-energy generation sites in the state, project managers say, and have the capacity for future conversion to such renewable energies.

The conditional-use permit application regarding the proposed Ellis County wind farm cannot be passed except by a unanimous vote of the Ellis County Commission, it was announced this morning. Ellis County Clerk Alberta Klaus presented the results of the formal protest petition, which was filed in opposition of the project June 20. Signatures were collected for 43.19 percent of the proposed wind farm's perimeter. "That's what we've been waiting on. This is the next step in our process with the wind farm," said County Chairman Vernon Berens. "We were waiting on the signatures, that we had the necessary signatures." According to Ellis County zoning regulations, a unanimous vote is required if petitions are endorsed by 20 percent of landowners within a 1,000-foot perimeter of a proposed project. If the signatures had not amounted to the 20 percent requirement, the vote could have passed with a simple two-thirds majority.

At Monday's Ellis County Commission meeting, County Clerk Alberta Klaus is scheduled to present information regarding a protest petition filed in objection to the proposed Ellis County wind farm. While the Ellis County Planning and Zoning Commission has made its recommendation, the fate of the proposed Ellis County wind farm depends upon the county commission. "It's in our hands, and we will make a decision," said Vernon Berens, chairman of the Ellis County Commission.

Another petition regarding the proposed Ellis County wind farm was presented to the Ellis County clerk Thursday. This one requests a complete moratorium on the project and consists of 760 signatures. The document does not protest wind energy, but requests cautious and balanced deliberation before the county proceeds, states the cover letter, which is endorsed by the Ellis County Environmental Awareness Coalition.

A long-standing proposal to build a wind farm in Kiowa County is again on the front burner. The company proposing the wind farm, Iowa-based Clipper Windpower, is hopeful that utility companies that have passed over the proposal in the past will want to fast track the project now in hopes of helping the tornado-ravaged area get back on its feet.

The protest petition for the proposed wind farm southwest of Hays was discussed during Monday morning's Ellis County Commission meeting. Ellis County Clerk Alberta Klaus said the protest petition was delivered Wednesday. "I don't know that you can act on the wind farm application today because of the protest petition I have in hand," Klaus said.

Hays - Jacinta Faber is just the kind of person you would picture advocating wind energy. She and her family buy organic food, recycle and even use low-flow toilets to conserve water. While Faber likes the concept of wind energy, she doesn't particularly like the idea of the almost 400-foot-tall wind turbines looming on a ridge about 2,000 feet from her house southwest of Hays. She fears there could be health repercussions from the constant noise of the low-frequency whooping sound that the spinning turbines make and the strobelike effect from the blades' shadows.

Yesterday morning, Wednesday, June 20th, on the second floor of the Ellis County Court House, history was made: Citizens brought in the first ever protest petition since the county's adoption of zoning regulations and procedures. The protest petition was submitted by the Ellis County Environmental Awareness Coalition, ECEAC, to Alberta Klaus, County Clerk. The purpose of the protest petition is to allow citizens to express opposition to the land use application submitted by CPV Wind Hays for the construction of a wind project south and west of Prairie Acres.

The Ellis County Clerk's office was a full house late Wednesday morning as about 15 Ellis County Environmental Awareness Coalition members gathered to submit petitions protesting the proposed Ellis County windfarm development. Wednesday at 5 p.m. was the deadline for people who own land within 1,000 feet of the affected area to file a formal protest petition. These petitions object to the recommendation of approval Ellis County Planning and Zoning commissioners made to the county commission June 6 regarding a conditional-use permit application filed by Competitive Power Ventures. "I'm just glad the petitions are in place," said ECEAC member Keith Pfannenstiel.

Wind farm opponents mean business, and they've secured the services of a Wichita attorney and are discussing what action to take after the Ellis County Commission votes either to approve or deny the conditional-use permit requested by Competitive Power Ventures. The Ellis County Environmental Awareness Coalition, a group organized in opposition to the proposed project, is prepared to support the county commissioners in a vote of denial, said ECEAC co-chairman Tim Davis at a meeting Monday evening. The coalition also is preparing for a lawsuit in the event of commission approval, he said.

It is expected that a protest petition, the first filed since Ellis County adopted countywide zoning in August, will be submitted to the county clerk's office this week. Opponents to the proposed Ellis County wind project have been collecting signatures since March - the deadline for filing the petitions is 5 p.m. Wednesday. "It's the only tool we have," said Pat Bittel, co-secretary of the Ellis County Environmental Awareness Coalition, a group formed in opposition to the wind project. "The protest petition is a form of democracy."

The clock continues to tick for protesters of the proposed Ellis County wind project as no additional time was granted to file a protest petition.

Discussion of the proposed wind farm development surfaced twice throughout the approximately five-hour meeting. Catherine resident John Schmeidler had been on the agenda to address the board May 29 but was not listed on Monday's agenda. In an insert item, Schmeidler discussed concerns about the protest petition relating to the conditional-use permit filed by wind developers for the proposed Ellis County project. "A couple of things have come up," Schmeidler said. "As you know, I met with you on April the second and asked a bunch of questions and hoped to get some answers. Those have not been forthcoming."

After two public hearing meetings and about five hours of public presentations, the Ellis County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the conditional-use permit and development plan for the proposed wind farm southwest of Hays following less than 20 minutes of discussion Wednesday night. The recommendation of approval, which passed 6-1, now will pass to the Ellis County Commission for a final decision.

The public hearing for a conditional-use zoning permit filed by Competitive Power Ventures in March will resume this week. The Ellis County Planning and Zoning Commission will begin deliberation regarding the proposed wind project at 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Ellis County Fairgrounds Gold Building.

The protest petition process was a primary concern of commissioners. Henman requested clarification regarding the allotted time frame and protest area. The terminology regarding the allowed time frame differs slightly in the Ellis County Joint Planning Commission Procedural Guide and the adopted Ellis County Zoning Regulations. Davidson said that has caused confusion. Protest petitions must be filed with the Ellis County Clerk within 14 days after the Planning and Zoning Commission makes a decision, which means the hearing is closed, Davidson said. However, if there ever is discrepancy between these two documents, the zoning regulations would take precedence, he said.

There have been new developments regarding the proposed Ellis County wind farm, project manager Krista Gordon said Tuesday. For starters, the project's boundaries will be pulled back from areas of "greatest concern," Gordon said. Negotiations still are under way, but several turbines located along Yocemento Avenue and Old U.S. Highway 40 will be relocated. Easement agreements also will be revised to ensure the company cannot locate equipment in the areas closest to housing communities outside project boundaries, Gordon said.