Boone County stalls wind-farm projects; 2 plans need support, push from residents

Two wind-farm proposals in western Boone County have been on hold for several months as county officials refuse to take the lead in either direction.

Wind-farm developers Gestamp Wind North America and enXco have been offering some county landowners big money to lease land for the large wind turbines -- reportedly up to $14,000 per 400-foot turbine annually. Land Acquisition Specialist Josh Skogen said enXco has agreements with about 50 landowners representing 10,500 acres. Gestamp representatives didn't respond to an interview request.

Each company plans a wind farm of about 130 turbines, but Boone County zoning ordinances currently prohibit the large windmills. Last year, county officials suggested that a new enabling ordinance could be drafted early in 2010, but the projects are currently in a holding pattern, according to County Commissioner Marc Applegate.

"We're not pursuing this," Applegate said, "and the wind companies haven't come to us wanting to move this forward."

Skogen didn't expect the County Commissioners or the Area Plan Commission to move forward with a possible ordinance without serious prodding by residents.

Zionsville resident Charles Anderson said he didn't know if the delay was due to county officials or opposition from neighboring landowners.

"County residents take their land ownership very seriously, so there is often a landowner nearby who has no interest in the needs of others, (but) he or she will fight it at an APC meeting," Anderson said. " . . . As a generalization, the county is not about progress, it's about maintaining the status quo. Maybe the county needs to be a better leader."

Applegate admitted community support for the wind projects has been mixed at best. Although many farmers favor their projects, which would add another revenue stream to their properties, Applegate said the main opposition is coming from residential homeowners who purchased land from the farmers so they could live in the country.

Many of those residents, at various meetings over the past year, said they fear property values will decline after a wind farm is built, but economists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found no real evidence of a drop.

Mike Andreoli, attorney for the Citizens for the Preservation of Rural Boone County group opposed to the wind farms, didn't respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Although Applegate was skittish on the staying power of the wind farms, the U.S. Department of Energy anticipates that 20 percent of the nation's electricity could be wind-generated by 2030.

If the county passes an ordinance allowing the companies to move forward, Skogen said, at least one site could be fully operational within five years.

Skogen estimated that enXco would invest up to $300 million in equipment and other costs for its Weevil Wind project, creating between more than 200 construction jobs and up to 20 full-time, long-term operations and maintenance jobs paying up to $60,000 a year. The tax revenue from the project could add as much as $2 million annually to the county's bottom line.