During the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) public hearing in Harmony on Monday, Nov. 9, to gather public input regarding the proposed EcoHarmony West Wind Project, several individuals voiced concern as to how the wind farm would impact the karst topography of the area. The proposed wind project will be sited in an area of about 23,000 acres west of Harmony.

City officials are going back to the drawing board with their proposed wind turbine ordinance. After debate Monday, the Austin City Council decided to table the proposed ordinance because council members said it needs more research. Planning Commission chairwoman Lynn Spainhower heard from angry residents of Oak Park Village, who took exception to her remark to the council that the 350-foot setback the commission added last week was "arbitrary."

A vote was scheduled for Austin's City Council, on a proposed wind turbine ordinance, in the city. It would allow turbines, with several restrictions to be placed in industrial parks and commercial areas, but 350 feet away from residential buildings. ...But Monday's council never saw a vote on the issue, it was tabled on the overwhelming support of some concerned residents. A lot of people showed up to voice their disagreement with the ordinance, though it wasn't a public hearing.

Concerned residents have relentlessly questioned how far wind turbines should be set back from other structures in rural Goodhue County. Commissioners learned Tuesday that addressing those concerns locally regarding two proposed wind farms could be difficult. ...[County Attorney Stephen] Betcher said state law now allows counties to step in and regulate wind farms between 5 and 25 megawatts as well with PUC's help. In doing so, commissioners could impose stricter standards - including for setbacks - than the state currently does on mid-range and larger projects.

A wind farm planned for southern Dakota County is getting some blowback from nearby residents. In a barrage of comments submitted to the state's Public Utilities Commission, neighbors and even a few people from other parts of the metro area criticized the proposal for a 10.84 megawatt wind farm in Greenvale Township, northeast of Northfield. The project would be the first to concentrate multiple windmills in the seven-county metro area, and many people objected to that idea.

Critics of a proposed wind farm near Goodhue urged a state commission Thursday to scrutinize the project. Goodhue County landowners attended the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission meeting asking commissioners to question Goodhue Wind's status as a Community-Based Energy Development. C-BED developments are supposed to guarantee some level of local project ownership. The group also briefly discussed setback concerns.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) held a public hearing in Harmony on Monday evening to gather public input regarding the proposed EcoHarmony West Wind Project. The proposed 280 megawatt wind project will be sited in an area of about 23,000 acres west of Harmony and will consist of about 134 turbines ...The hearing was part of the public process for EcoEnergy's certificate of need and site permit application.

Early work on a unified wind turbine policy was met with many questions at Thursday's Burleigh County Planning Commission meeting. Bismarck City Planner Gregg Greenquist said the policy should be split between "household wind energy systems" and larger wind farms. Greenquist said a large expansion is planned for a wind farm near Wilton into the Burleigh County jurisdiction.

This is the first in a series of stories about wind turbines and their impact on the rural landscape. Future articles will look at projects coming to Nobles and Jackson counties and the impact wind farms have on our region's transportation system. A couple of years ago, Murray County collected more than $1 million in production tax revenue from the wind turbines that span the horizon along the Buffalo Ridge.

Minnesota Power is seeking an almost 20 percent increase in rates for its residential customers to cover investments made in cleaner, greener energy. For the average residential customer, that amounts to $13 per month. "We know this is unwelcome news at an unwelcome time," said Pat Mullen, the company's vice president of marketing and public affairs. "These are improvements that need to be made. ..."The average citizen in Duluth is not going to be able to afford an increase like that," said Sue Siverson of Duluth.

It's one step forward, two steps back for the Greenvale Wind Farm. The two local companies behind the development of a proposed wind farm have asked to temporarily halt any further action on the 11-megawatt project located in Greenvale Township. In an Oct. 14 letter to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Sparks Energy and Medin Renewable Energy, the two companies behind the development of the proposed wind farm, say they need more time to listen and respond to residents' concerns about the development.

A proposed wind farm near Parkers Prairie won't hamper agricultural activities, nor will the noise affect residents, according to Prairie Wind Energy LLC Board members. Four board members, including President Terry Carlson, attended the Otter Tail County Board meeting Tuesday to answer any questions regarding the project and also update the board that it is completing its due diligence on the project. Twenty people attended the meeting.

Jim and Merlene Stiles, owners of Super Fresh Produce in Austin, are interested in building a wind turbine on their property. But as of now, they can't - a local moratorium is in place on turbine construction as the city is without a specific ordinance regulating their construction. That could change, however, as city officials go forward with a draft ordinance that would layout the dos and don'ts of wind turbine growth within city limits.

Many people in North Dakota are thrilled that wind turbines are dotting the state. It is an alternate source of energy, and financially, it is good for the state's economy. But there are two sides to every story, and state legislators heard both sides on Wednesday in Valley City. The Energy Development and Transmission Committee first listened to NextEra Energy Resources representatives on wind facility construction and operation.

The blades of a wind turbine at Burnsville Walser Honda still turn with the breeze, as they have for decades - but these days, that's pretty much all they do. "The wind turbine stopped functioning about nine years ago - apparently, the dynamo or generator stopped working," said Doug Sprinthall, Walser's director in charge of new vehicle operations. ...The turbine is the only one of its type in Burnsville. The city is examining whether to change its existing wind-power ordinance, which dates back to 1982.

Just Wind asked the Stutsman County Commission to lower the application fee for a wind farm zoning permit during the commission's regular meeting Tuesday. The fee was set at $500 per wind turbine when the wind farm zoning ordinance was passed this spring. ..."According to your figures, a 250-turbine project will cost about $1.5 billion," said Noel Johnson, chief operating officer of the county. "And you're saying the $125,000 permit fee would kill it?"

The city of New Ulm doesn't want a few farmers to break wind, so to speak, and it will pay them not to. But the farmers are having none of it. "It's not a money issue or a wind turbine issue anymore. It's the way we were treated by New Ulm," said farmer Clete Goblirsch, who maintains that his wind rights aren't for sale at any price.

Wind energy production nationwide increased by 1,649 megawatts during the third quarter, but you'd never know it by looking at wind installation in Iowa and Minnesota, the largest wind energy states in the Midwest. Both states recorded no gain in installed wind energy, although they have a total of seven wind projects under construction as the fourth quarter began.