As expected, Medina council members voted unanimously at their Nov. 18 regular meeting to approve the resolution to build a wind turbine in Medina at the Hennepin County Public Works Facility. ...Although only a handful of people attended the Nov. 18 meeting, in comparison to Nov. 5, it was clear that the subject of a wind turbine Medina still aroused controversy.

Despite opposition from numerous residents, Medina City Council members have unanimously agreed to welcome a 407-foot wind turbine to the town's rural landscape. Facing a crowd of 75 to 100 residents, about two-thirds of whom opposed the turbine, the council Wednesday night took "a fairly courageous'' stand in favor of the wind generator proposed by Hennepin County, said City Council Member Elizabeth Weir. ...The county will not build the turbine unless it can make enough from the sale of the electricity to pay for the turbine and operating costs and have some money left over to lower the county's electric costs, he said.

The proposed county partnership aimed at building two wind turbines in Mount Vernon Township was discussed Tuesday, when questions from County Board member Marcia Ward generated gavel banging and a bit of controversy. ...Ward questioned the location of the proposed turbines, suggesting that other locations in the county might be better. She said that she hasn't had enough site-specific information or questions answered to make a good decision. She said that a number of constituents had contacted her with doubts about the plans and location, and questioned whether bids ought to be let on the contract.

By a 3-0 vote Tuesday, Nicollet County commissioners approved a request from New Ulm Public Utilities (NUPU) to erect a 198-foot meteorological tower in Lafayette Township. ...Earlier in the meeting, commissioners unanimously approved a one-year moratorium, effective immediately, on Nicollet County wind turbine projects. Beatty told The Journal the moratorium was created so commissioners could gather more data on the issue for the health, safety and welfare of county residents and ensure "we're doing the right thing." Speaking on behalf of concerned citizens, Jeff Franta read a petition against the project signed by 77 rural residents he said was sent to the NUPU Commission more than two months ago.

After more than two hours of discussion Monday night, the Nicollet County Planning and Zoning Advisory Commission approved a Conditional Use Permit for the New Ulm Public Utilities to erect a 198-foot meteorological (met) tower several miles southwest of Lafayette. The resolution came on a 49-11 criteria vote with 13 conditions. ..."I seriously believe you're seriously impacting the lives of many people here," he told NUPU. In their Findings of Fact criteria votes on 10 questions, Commissioners voted 4-2 that given the nature of the land, the requested use was not compatible with the general welfare, public health and safety, the surrounding area and will depreciate nearby properties.

Dozens of Lafayette and West Newton Township property owners surrounding the New Ulm Public Utility Commission's planned wind farm have signed a petition opposing the project. Petition signers said they sent a copy of it to the Nicollet County Planning and Zoning Board scheduled to meet at 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 15 in the Nicollet County Government Center. In Letters to the Editor of The Journal, "concerned area land owners and residents" stated they were not opposed to wind energy but think there are places better suited than their property.

A proposed wind turbine outside the new East Ridge High School in Woodbury is in the planning stages. While it would mean big energy savings for the school, some nearby landowners don't want a turbine near their homes. The school, located on Bailey Road, will be open by fall of 2009. The plan is to build a 170-foot-tall wind turbine at East Ridge that would produce up to 70 percent of the school's electricity.

Two more "met" (meteorological) towers for the EcoEnergy wind power company were given initial approval by the Fillmore County Planning Commission during its monthly meeting Aug. 28 and will be passed along to the Fillmore County commissioners with a recommendation for approval. ...The requests sailed through the Planning Commission process as EcoEnergy representative Don Miller, of its new Harmony office staff, explained some project details and answered questions.

The landowners group will voice its concerns Monday at a Nicollet County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. In a letter sent to area media, the group said surrounding landowners, including those who have signed land-use leases with the New Ulm Utilities Commission, have opposed the project from the start. The letter stated the landowners entered into the leases only for fear of losing large portions of their crop lands to eminent domain procedures. "There are a lot of concerns and unanswered questions," said landowners group member Jeff Franta, adding that the group will wait until the meeting to air specifics.

Four Renewable Energy Systems Americas, Inc. (RES) conditional use permit requests for meteorological towers were endorsed by the Mower County Planning Commission. However, they all came under attack by another wind energy developer. RES is a national leader in the development and construction of renewable wind energy. This summer RES was awarded five utility scale wind projects in Canada with a total capacity of 954MW. RES critic James Hartson is a Waltham area farmer who is trying to develop the state's only community-based (i.e., farmer-owned cooperative) wind project in Mower County, Green Acres Wind Farm.

Like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the elements needed to put together a 5-megawatt wind energy farm northwest of New Ulm are all coming together for the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission. Giant steps were taken at the NUPUC meeting Tuesday as the commission approved the land and wind easement leases with three landowners in southwestern Nicollet County to provide space for the wind turbines needed to generate that amount of "green" energy. In all, New Ulm Public Utilities would be leasing a total of 237.03 acres just off Highway 7, about 5 miles northwest of Klossner.

Lynden Township has denied a landowner's request to erect a wind turbine. The township board voted 2-1 this week not to approve a conditional-use permit for the 120-foot tower. Russ Pearson had proposed installing the wind turbine to produce electricity for his property in the Hidden River addition.

The City of Fergus Falls is well on its way to adopting a policy regarding the installation of commercial and private wind turbines. Wind Energy Conservation Systems (WECS) were the order of business at Monday's Planning Commission meeting, where members approved an ordinance that may see a first reading by the city council as early as Monday. Fergus Falls currently has a temporary moratorium on wind turbines. The six-month ordinance was passed by the council in late February following requests for turbines by both residential and industrial users.

It's hard to believe, but enXco Development Corporation appears to be looking out for the interests of citizens who are critical of the proposed wind energy project in Mower County. For a second time, the Mower County Board of Commissioners has delayed action on all of the requests from enXco, concerning their wind energy project in Pleasant Valley and Grand Meadow townships. ...EnXco has waived the 60-day rule which by Minnesota statute requires a decision by the county within 60 days of the original CUP application.

Because it is uncharted territory, Community Development Director Gordon Hydukovich is requesting a temporary moratorium on wind turbines. The city attorney will be asked during Tuesday's Fergus Falls City Council meeting to draft such an ordinance. It is necessary, Hydukovich said, until city code can be written clearly stating where they can be placed. The moratorium was prompted by an individual requesting to place a turbine in a residential area. Another request was submitted by an industrial user in the city.

Although the state will permit projects of 25 megawatts or larger, a new law will also require the state to consider county ordinances when it reviews those projects. "The state must show (just reasons) why they wouldn't (use) the county ordinance on a 25-megawatt or larger project," Biren said. The Lyon County ordinance on wind projects is stricter than state regulations in several ways, Biren and county commissioner Bob Fenske said.

As expected, the Mower County Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday to table action on three requests for an EnXco wind energy project. The firm received the recommendation of approval for their requests a week ago from the Mower County Planning Commission. However, many concerns were raised by residents of Pleasant Valley and Grand Meadow townships, who live near the high voltage transmission line route or the substation EnXco plans to construct. The commission recommended the commissioners table action until the petitioner and the citizens can meet to discuss the issues.

As wind power continues to generate excitement for a "green" energy source in the future, developers are looking to Fillmore County as a potential source of the needed winds, especially in the southwestern part of the county. During its monthly meeting Nov. 15, the Fillmore County Planning Commission heard Minneapolis-based representatives of enXco present the second and third requests this year to put up meteorological towers to obtain information on winds.

Wind is apparently a hot commodity in the Kenyon area. Just months after the state approved a nine-turbine wind farm in Kenyon and Cherry Grove townships, a company has expressed interest in harvesting wind energy from that same region. Goodhue County commissioners on Thursday approved a conditional-use permit allowing Horizon Wind Energy to construct a temporary meteorological test pole in Kenyon Township.