Developers of the only major wind project on the drawing board in Wisconsin are asking the state Public Service Commission to rethink its recent split decision blocking a construction permit for the Highland Wind Farm.

The $250 million project stalled when the commission, on a 2-1 vote, decided to deploy a more conservative standard for wind turbine noise limits.

The commission refused to allow the project to proceed, because the state noise limit might be exceeded on occasion for several homes near the project.

But Emerging Energies Inc. of Hubertus said the project does not need to be redesigned to accommodate the noise concerns. Instead, the developer said it planned to preprogram turbines that could cause noise problems to power down if wind speeds would cause the limits to be exceeded.

The developer urged the PSC, in an “emergency request” filed Friday afternoon, to allow the development to proceed without requiring the developer to start over on the project.

Groups opposed to and supporting the project have been asked to weigh in on the Highland Wind Farm request by Wednesday. Highland is asking the commission to take up the matter at its weekly meeting on Friday.

PSC spokeswoman Kristin Ruesch said it was premature to say whether the agency would take another look at the project. The commission will wait to review the responses to Highland’s request, she said.

Emerging Energies says it has worked for six years and invested nearly $2 million to develop the project, which would be located in St. Croix County, northwest of Eau Claire.

Opponents weigh in

Opponents of the project said the commission does not need to rethink its stance. They said that money the developer has invested in the project shouldn’t be a concern for the PSC.

“They assumed that risk, and if it does not pay off for them, that is their problem,” Forest Voice said. “The public interest is not harmed by that loss.”

Separately, a coalition of towns in Sheboygan County – where Emerging Energies has proposed a smaller wind farm – urged the commission to reject the request. The commission shouldn’t take into account the developer’s past investment and allow a “rush to judgment,” the coalition said.

The coalition cited concerns about low-frequency noise and health concerns at the Shirley wind project in Brown County. Those concerns should prompt the commission to bar the Highland project and other wind farms until they are addressed, the group said.

Meanwhile, the green energy advocacy group Renew Wisconsin also weighed in Monday, noting the PSC had allowed Milwaukee-based We Energies to curtail certain turbines to comply with nighttime noise limits at the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County.

“In fact, we believe that operational curtailment is the most effective tool available to a wind-power project operator for reducing sonic output from individual wind turbines to allowable levels,” Renew Wisconsin policy director Michael Vickerman said.

Fast action sought

The developer is seeking quick action from the commission because it wants its wind farm to be considered by Xcel Energy Inc., which recently announced it was seeking bids for additional wind power to serve its customers in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Xcel operates a utility based in Eau Claire but in essence operates its utilities as one system serving parts of both states.

In its filing, Highland said it would be a waste of potential economic development to keep the project from proceeding on a technical matter that can be easily addressed.

Opponents of the project are concerned about noise, shadow flicker and the potential loss of property value associated with the project.

But Highland said the project as submitted complies with the state’s wind siting rules, which specifically allow developers to comply with the noise standard by curtailing production at certain times.

Source: JSOnline

Among the benefits of being ensconced in a city’s incorporated boundaries are a safe and reliable water supply, speedy access to medical care, a well-plowed street and the likelihood that if you collapse while mowing the lawn, someone with a cellphone’s going to walk by and call 911.

It’s different in the country, where you have to drill your own well, take your chances with snow-drifted roads and if on the unlikely chance a far-flung neighbor does happen by as you’re grasping your chest in the front yard, the hospital is probably so far away you’ll die before you get there.

So I’ve always been a little flummoxed that the fear mongering over wind turbines has been able to gain a foothold among such a hearty breed — as evidenced by the opposition to a 41-turbine wind farm planned for the sparsely populated towns of Forest and Cylon in St. Croix County.

As part of the state’s review of the project, researchers looked for health risks from a wind farm in Brown County, this newspaper reported Friday. Like many similar studies before it, it found, well, not much.

Yes, the researchers concluded, “enough evidence and hypotheses have been given herein to classify (low-frequency noise) as a serious issue,” even if they couldn’t say whether the nausea, dizziness, headaches and other ailments reported by the wind farm’s neighbors were caused by the turbines.

Indeed, of the three homes where researchers detected such barely audible or inaudible noise, in only one case was the noise from outside the home itself.

“Regarding health impacts from inaudible sound, it’s important to note that these sounds are not new or unique to wind turbines,” said Tyson Cook, a staff scientist with the group Clean Wisconsin, which supports wind power. “Infrasound and low-frequency noise are always present at some level, from both natural and manmade sources.”

Plus, isn’t “inaudible sound” an oxymoron?

Cook shared with me studies on the effects of wind farm noise, the upshot of which is that there is little evidence the noise is anything more than annoying to some minority of people.

Significantly, most of the turbine-noise research shared with me by the anti-wind farm group The Forest Voice was also less than definitive.

“A lot of it I think is in the mind of people,” UW-Madison senior outreach specialist and renewable energy expert Scott Sanford said of the alleged ill effects of wind farms.

There are no wind farms in my decidedly urban, East Side Madison neighborhood, although the noise pollution is far from low-frequency: jets regularly coming in for landing at the Dane County airport, train whistles from the tracks down the street, the screams of kids — including my own — playing up and down the sidewalks.

Despite all this, health-wise, I feel pretty good.

Perhaps we urbanites are heartier than I thought — or simply blessed with far less sensitive hearing.

Testing finds sound below threshold of hearing in homes near wind farm

Shirley, Wis. – A series of tests on homes near the Shirley Wind Farm in Brown County found no evidence linking low frequency sound from wind turbines to health impacts, according to a study released late last week.

“After testing three homes near the Shirley Wind Farm, scientists were unable to measure any low-frequency sound from wind turbines above the threshold of human hearing from within the homes,” explains Tyson Cook, staff scientist at Clean Wisconsin. “There are no peer-reviewed studies showing negative health impacts from wind turbine sounds below the threshold of hearing.”

The testing was conducted in early December 2012 by four independent firms at the request of the Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC requested the testing as it decides whether to approve the Highland Wind Project, a proposal to construct a wind farm in St. Croix County that would bring clean, renewable energy to 29,000 homes and create up to 100 jobs.

“It’s important that we fully understand the impacts of our energy sources, which is why we wanted to see this study conducted,” said Cook. “Like others, this study finds no physical link between wind farm sound and negative health impacts.”

Wind farms offset the need to burn fossil fuels, which result in harmful pollution that threatens the health of our families. A poll conducted by a bipartisan research team in January of 2012 found that 85 percent of Wisconsin voters would like to increase the use of wind energy to meet the state’s future energy needs.

“While there is no evidence directly linking wind farms to negative health impacts, there are volumes of studies showing the disastrous impact of air and water pollution from burning fossil fuels,” said Cook. “By moving toward clean, safe energy choices like wind, we can help improve the health of families across Wisconsin.”
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Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization, protects Wisconsin’s clean water and air and advocates for clean energy by being an effective voice in the state legislature and by holding elected officials and polluters accountable. Founded in 1970 as Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, Clean Wisconsin exposes corporate polluters, makes sure existing environmental laws are enforced, and educates citizens and businesses. On behalf of its 10,000 members and its coalition partners, Clean Wisconsin protects the special places that make Wisconsin such a wonderful place to live, work and play. www.cleanwisconsin.org

The company built two turbines in the Village of Mount Pleasant, near its largest global factory, known as Waxdale.

The turbines are 415 feet tall, equivalent to those at utility-scale wind farms that have been built in Wisconsin in recent years. They can generate about 15% of the energy for the factory, which is roughly the size of 36 football fields.

S.C. Johnson has been moving to rely more on renewable energy as part of its pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its operations, under the U.S. Envirionmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders program.

The Waxdale factory began using renewable energy when the company built a generator that’s powered with landfill gas. A second generator burns natural gas.

The late Sam Johnson, chairman emeritus of S.C. Johnson & Son, had led the fight against construction of new coal-fired power plants in Oak Creek – taking to the streets of Racine to lead a rally against coal.

Johnson lost that fight when the state Supreme Court approved construction of the $2.3 billion We Energies coal plant, but the company has continued to move to rely on its own power.

“He would be thrilled,” Johnson’s son, Fisk Johnson, said Tuesday. Johnson is chairman and chief executive of the privately held consumer products manufacturer, maker of Glade, Pledge, Scrubbing Bubbles, Shout and other products.

“These two windmills have been a personal passion of mine,” he said. Not only do they help the company supply, on average, all of its own power needs, he said, but added they are “a giant visual reminder of the commitment we’ve made as a company to environmental progress.”

During a ceremony Tuesday morning, Fisk Johnson pressed a button on a laptop computer plugged in inside a tent beneath the turbines. That button sent a message to Vensys, the Germany-based turbine manufacturer, to connect the turbines to the power grid.

They began turning, slowly at first, but then more robustly. The turbines can generate enough power to supply about 700 homes.

Nodding to his mother, Imogene Powers Johnson, he said he was dedicating the turbines to his parents.

EPA regional administrator Susan Hedman credited the company for its work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its global sustainability programs.

The two Mount Pleasant turbines will “add a bit more wind to Windex,” she said.

S.C. Johnson is the third wind project to be built this year — all of which are being led by private companies rather than electric utilities. The others are the two-turbine Cashton Greens wind farm near La Crosse and the six turbines being erected in Verona by medical records software developer Epic Systems Inc.

Source

The Highland Wind Farm plan, which seeks to bring 41 500-foot-tall wind turbines to the rural landscape of northeast St. Croix County, is ripping the social fabric of the community apart.

But besides agreeing on that point, the chasm between the backers of the idea and those opposed to it is huge. It only took a few moments on Thursday to realize that.

At the 2 p.m. public hearing session, hosted by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, more than 40 people were sworn in to offer their input.

Administrative Law Judge Michael Newmark presided over the day’s proceedings. PSC of Wisconsin commissioners listened on a make-shift telephone conference connection as residents, one by one, provided their viewpoint on the matter at hand.

At the 6 p.m. hearing, dozens more local residents added their two-cents-worth to the official record.

Newmark started the day by explaining that the PSC had three potential determinations to choose from when deciding whether to approve Highland Wind Farm’s application.

They can approve it, approve the application with modifications, or deny it, Newmark explained. He noted that public comments can also be submitted by mail, prior to the PSC’s final decision.

There was a fair representation of testimony on both sides of the issue on Thursday.

Ken Bartz kicked off the hearing by asking if land values would be negatively impacted by the construction of wind turbines in the township. He asked how landowners would be compensated if property values dropped as a result of the project.

Bartz, like others, also asked about alleged negative health impacts that people living near industrial wind turbines have reported in recent years. He said he didn’t think wind turbines should be installed in “residential areas” if the jury is still out about possible health impacts.

“Have enough studies been done for the health issue?” he asked.

Matthew Radintz questioned the “lack of community outreach” that occurred prior to the Highland Project getting approval to proceed by the Town of Forest Board. He said neighbors who would be impacted by the project were not notified of the plans until after the town officials had approved it.

He said the proposed wind farm does not comply with the town’s comprehensive plan, which suggests that no large industrial facilities be constructed in the town (unless it’s in the hamlet of Forest proper) and that the current rural character of the community be maintained.

“This project does not belong or fit in our community,” he said.

Brenda Salseg, a member of the Forest Voice, a citizen group organized to fight against the Highland project, said most residents are not opposed to wind energy. They support alternative energies, but are against improper site selection for industrial wind turbines, she explained.

People living near similar wind turbines, Salseg said, “are suffering” and have been forced to move from their homes.

She said low-frequency sound, “shadow flicker” caused by the sun striking the turning blades and stray voltage are among the causes for declining health for some people.

Salseg pleaded with the PSC commissioners to “make the right decision” and “pull back the curtain” on an industry that is chasing government subsidies and not looking out for the wellbeing of community members.

Rick Steinberger said he is concerned that nearby turbines would reduce his family’s quality of life, noting that potential health impacts from low-frequency sound and shadow flicker are real.

“What we can’t see can harm you,” he said.

He urged the PSC to deny the Emerging Energies’ application.

“If the PSC is going to err, err on the side of safety,” he said.

Teresa Wilson lamented the fact that the controversy has caused “irreparable damage” to the community. Relationships between neighbors, family members and church members have been strained as a result of the ongoing debate, she explained.

“For Emerging Energies, this is strictly a financial matter,” she said. “Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right. Forest is not the place for this project.”

Dennis Eggert agreed, saying the “promise of some money” has ruined Forest.

“Please stop this project and let our township heal,” he pleaded.

Alan Warner, 80, and a 55-year resident of the Town of Forest, was the first to rise in support of the plan. He said he’d like to see more clean energy developed in the nation.

Douglas Karau, former town supervisor, said town residents were never intentionally kept in the dark related to the wind farm approval process. He said the landowners who have agreed to host turbines on their property “have a right to diversify their production” and start harvesting the wind.

“It’s an agricultural production unit,” he said of the turbines. “Everybody doesn’t have to have it. It’s their own individual decision.”

Karau said there’s “a lot of hype” related to the negative health impacts of wind turbines, but no clear health effects have been documented related to wind turbines during the industry’s 30-year history.

“There’s a lot of scare tactics,” he said.

Rita Buhr said the town’s landscape will change if the wind turbines come, but it’s not unlike a century ago when settlers cleared trees to convert land into fields. She supported the idea of renewable energy sources, she said, and “harvesting of the wind.”

Larry McNamara said sometimes progress comes through sacrifice. He suggested that promoting wind energy was a good thing and Forest needs to step up and do its part.

Not only would the project help the nation become more energy independent, he said, the Highland Project will allow some farmers to keep their farms together so they don’t have to be parceled off for housing developments. The payments producers receive from hosting turbines would allow that to happen, he noted.

Mark Tellijohn agreed, noting that payments farmers will receive will help them pay for rising health insurance costs and increasing production costs.

“This is good for our nation,” he added. “Throughout our history, people have been frightened of change. To me, what’s frightening is no change.”

Carol Johnson, who said she will not be a turbine host or personally benefit from the Highland project, said she’s excited about the economic impact and job opportunities that will come to Forest.

Having retired from a job in the wind industry, Johnson decried anti-wind “propaganda” that is “based on falsehoods.”

She claimed that it’s safe to live within the footprint of a wind farm.

The PSC will now formulate a decision in the matter and issue their ruling by late March 2013.

Source

Around 80 people crammed into the tiny Forest Town Hall for a public hearing on the Highland Wind Farm Project put forward by Wisconsin wind developer Emerging Energies. If approved by the PSC, 41 wind turbines nearly 500 feet tall would be placed in and around the small town. Brenda Salseg heads the wind farm opposition group Forest Voice and was one of the first to give comment to the PSC, “Wind energy of this size and scope is not wanted in our community. Industrial Wind is not free, clean and green when it takes the property rights and freedoms of non-participating land owners.”

Although much of the public comment was anti wind farm supporters also made their pitch. Dawn Cress says she’ll also be surrounded by turbines but welcomes the economic benefit, “The proposed Highland Wind Farm here in the Town of Forest gives our community and county added revenue and job stimulus. Wisconsin has no oil or coal or gas deposits but we do have adequate wind.”

The project has been so controversial that it led to the recall the entire Forest town board. The Public Service Commission says it’ll likely come to a decision on the project by spring of 2013.

Source

Note: Any commercial content played before news story is not linked or approved by this web site.

The project was first proposed in 2008 and approved by the town board. However, residents, concerned about the health impacts of the project, filed a lawsuit against the town and recalled all the town board members. Shortly after, it was discovered the recalled board members had approved permits for the project as one of their last acts. The agreement was rescinded.

Since then, the company has changed the project; it’s grown from 100 megawatts to just over that. Because of the change, an approval must come from the PSC.

If Highland Wind Farm makes its way to Forest, things will be different. The jury is still out on whether the change will be positive…or negative.

“Well there is obviously a financial benefit for those who have accepted a turbine on their site or on their parcel of land,” says Emerging Energies Spokesperson, Jay Mundinger.

“There are going to be a number of residents that are going to be adversely affected with their health. All of us stand to lose our property values. For many of us, those are our retirement plans,” says Brenda Salseg, a resident of Forest.

On Thursday, the PSC held a public hearing to listen to arguments on both sides of this debate. Each testimony was documented and will be reviewed by the PSC, a decision from the group could come by March. If they vote yes, construction could begin by the end of 2013.

Mundinger says, “In any development there is a process that we try to follow and there’s been a few bumps in the road but nothing has come across that it would throw us off the path of the development.”

“When you’re looking at something that is on a utility scale, on an industrial scale, so closely packed in between homes and farms… there are going to be problems,” says Salseg.

Emerging Energies says the project will bring 8 permanent jobs to the area…But couldn’t give any specifics on what the tax benefits would be.

Mundinger says, “We need renewable energy in the state, and Wisconsin is far behind neighboring states, such as Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan. So we’re hoping that this installation kind of gets Wisconsin back on the map when it comes to renewable energy.”

Citizens at the meeting also had concerns about the health and environmental impact of industrial wind turbines, they say those impacts have yet to be fully understood.

Emerging Energies has already leased 6,2000 acres from property owners for turbine sites, access roads and distribution locations.

Source

Even though some of his neighbors aren’t happy with his choice, Marvin Voeltz stands behind his support of the Highland Wind Farm project in the Town of Forest. He displays a sign in his front yard showing his backing for the wind energy movement.

The wind was howling throughout the Town of Forest on Friday. It would have been a good day to help turn large wind energy turbines.

If Highland Wind Farm developers get their way, 41 turbines will be installed across that rural township landscape by the end of next year. A large number of local residents are up in arms over the idea. Still others are perfectly fine with the plans.

For the past couple years, as the controversy over the planned wind farm picked up steam, supporters of the project have typically stayed quietly in the background. Yet many landowners who have agreed to host one of the turbines on their properties remain staunch backers of the alternative energy development.

Along 200th Avenue, Marvin and Denise Voeltz stand ready to accept two turbines on their farmstead if and when the Highland project moves ahead.

One major step in the approval process is now here. Public hearings hosted by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin were slated for Tuesday in Madison and this Thursday, Oct. 11, in the Town of Forest.

Once public comments have been gathered, the PSC will determine if the wind farm will proceed.

Marvin Voeltz said he expects the project to be approved and that electricity will start to be generated by Forest turbines before long.

Voeltz points to a small windmill in his yard, which used to pump water for his grandparents when they operated the farmstead decades ago. If wind power worked then, he claimed, there’s no reason why it can’t work today.

“It’s about time we start producing some of our own electricity instead of depending on other countries for our energy,” he said. “Wind has got to be the safest way and the healthiest way. It can’t cause any problems.”

Voeltz said his family visited a wind farm project in eastern Wisconsin, also developed by Emerging Energies of Wisconsin LLC, and he was impressed with what he saw.

“We were tired of all the hearsay,” Voeltz said. “We wanted to take a look at these and see for ourselves what it was like.”

He said the turbines were quiet and not a blight on the rural community. Through additional research, Voeltz said, he feels the turbines are also not a threat to public health.

“If there was a health issue with wind turbines, why are they in other countries and all around the U.S.?” he asked. “The government surely would never let them start up if there was a problem.”

Opponents of the project claim that families living near turbines have complained about negative health impacts from their operation. Opponents say the Highland proposal places some turbines as close as 1,250 feet from existing homes, and that’s too close due to health concerns.

Voeltz admitted that it’s unfortunate the wind controversy has pitted neighbors against neighbors and family members against family members across Forest, but he still feels the wind farm project is what’s best for the township. He said he’s glad he signed on to have turbines placed on his land.

“I just think this will be a big benefit to the township, the county, the state and even to the United States,” he explained. “If we can produce our own power, instead of having other countries do it for us, it will be a real plus.”

Yvonne Fouks, who has signed on to host three turbines, agreed.

She said renewable energy sources are needed and she’s thrilled that Forest will likely be a player in wind energy.

Fouks said the payments she’ll receive will be helpful to her family, but that was not the motivation behind her decision to host the turbines. She’s more excited about the annual payments that will be generated for the Town of Forest and St. Croix County.

“The payments to us are the last thing on my mind, really,” she said. “This is really going to benefit our township and our county. We’ll be able to fix roads and do other things with the payments that will be made.”

Larry McNamara was one of the last wind turbine hosts to sign on with the Highland Wind Farm project. When developer Emerging Energies decided to increase the size of its project, and thus bypass the township’s control over the plans, he signed a contract to allow the project to move forward.

Unlike what opponents claim, McNamara said he feels the wind farm will help Forest maintain its rural heritage.

“Instead of parceling up the farm land to build homes, the turbines will help us to keep this area more country,” he said. “I would sooner put up a wind turbine than to parcel out my land.”

McNamara, too, is surprised by the passionate opposition to the project, but said landowners should be allowed to do whatever they want with their land. That includes allowing a turbine to be installed.

“I don’t see any harm with it,” he said.

McNamara claimed he’s suffered some retribution as a result of his stance on the wind farm project. For more than a year, McNamara said he’s been trying to get township permission to operate a lime quarry on his land. He said the current town board, which is fighting to stop Highland Wind Farm, refuses to give him permission to use township roads to haul the mined lime.

“They’re just bitter because of the wind turbines,” he said. “I’ve lost a year’s worth of revenue. It’s kind of upsetting.”

The PSC will be meeting at the Forest Town Hall at 2 and 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, to gather comments. Anyone wishing to provide input is invited to attend.

Source

Used decades ago by Voeltz’s grandparents for pumping water, the windmill reminds Voeltz of the role wind once played — and can still play — in powering farms and homes.

“Right there is proof they used wind,” he said. “What’s wrong with using wind now to produce electricity?”

Voeltz, a dairy farmer near Emerald, is one of more than a dozen landowners who have signed on to host one or more wind turbines for the Highland Wind Farm proposed by Emerging Energies of Wisconsin.

The $250 million proposed wind farm for the Town of Forest in St. Croix County is nearing reality, despite attempts by opponents to block it.

The project would generate 102.5 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 30,000 homes — from 41 almost 500-foot-tall turbines. Power would be sold to Xcel Energy via a proposed electric substation in the nearby Town of Cylon.

Some three years after it was first proposed, emotions still run strong on both sides of the project: While supporters tout the economic benefits, opponents argue that the turbines could harm human health and lower property values in this heavily-populated area.

Highland Wind Farm spokesman Jay Mundinger calls it an opportunity to generate more “green” energy, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in land-use payments for landowners and communities.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin will hear public comments on the project Thursday, Oct. 11, at the Forest Town Hall. A hearing also was held Oct. 9 in Madison.

If the wind farm gets the final OK, two turbines will be erected in the coming months on property owned by Voeltz, who milks 44 cows and owns 260 acres.

He said he’ll be paid several thousands of dollars per turbine each year for leasing land to EEW, which would own the turbines and maintain them.

Voeltz, 63, said he views the turbines as a sound investment in his family farm, any future generation that might farm there and in his retirement.

He said he would still be able to farm around the turbines, which take up about 50 feet in diameter, and be allowed to use the turbine-access driveways that would be installed on his land.

“For what we’re getting compensated, we’re not losing that much land,” he said.

Voeltz said he and his wife, Denise, signed on to the project almost as soon as it was made available to them a few years back.

“We did a lot of thinking before we signed it,” he said. “We didn’t want to sign something that somebody was going to come in and put up, then never see them again.”

Voeltz said EEW has had good communications, and nobody really had a negative attitude toward the wind farm then; a lot of people likely figured it was never going to happen, he said.

He said he personally hasn’t gotten any backlash from wind-farm opponents worried about potential noise or adverse health effects caused by turbines.

“I don’t tell people what they should build in their yard or what they should do with their own property,” he said.

The turbines must sit at least 1,200 feet from homes. Voeltz said the ones he saw near Green Bay were relatively quiet — all he could hear was a soft hum.

“We never heard the swish of the blades. I was really impressed,” he said, adding that there are enough trees and other neighborhood sounds to muffle any sound his turbines might produce.

“If somebody drives by on the road, that will make more noise than the turbine,” he said.

As for any detrimental effects on health, Voeltz said microwave ovens and cellphones probably cause more harm.

He said this project would not only benefit his family but the entire community as the township and county also would receive payments.

Wind power also brings long-term economic and environmental benefits nationwide, he said.

“It’s time that we have to start doing something to help ourselves and not depend on other countries for gas and coal,” he said. “I don’t foresee that the wind is ever going to quit blowing.”

Wind is one of the cleanest and safest options available for lessening dependence on foreign energy, Voeltz said.

“I think once it gets set up, it should be the cheapest way to go and I would say the healthiest because we’re not burning coal,” he said.

Some still on the fence

While Voeltz’s neighbor, Roy Evans, supports homegrown energy such as wind, he admits he’s still on the fence about the Highland Wind Farm.

“We might find out years from now a decision was made in error,” he said.

Evans wants to see more concrete data from those with more experience about turbines’ effects.

“Emotionally, I’m for it,” said Evans, a retired prison psychologist. “I think wind power is here to stay.”

Whether the Highland Wind Farm is built or not, wind power use will continue to grow internationally, he said.

But he’d like to see studies from other countries, such as Europe, that have harnessed the wind longer than the U.S. He’s also suspicious of the motives of those who will profit off this wind farm.

“I know that people want to move quickly on this,” Evans said, “and the people … who are really pushing this are the people who would make a profit off it. But maybe we need more data.”

Voeltz’s turbines will tower about a half-mile away from the small acreage where Evans has resided more than 30 years.

Evans, who has looked into the feasibility of getting a small turbine so he can go off-grid, said the advantages of this wind farm must be maximized and the disadvantages minimized.

He wants more oversight and for developers to build into the process an ability to rectify any issues that might crop up later.

“If pressed for a decision, I would say let’s go ahead because we do need it. We need it as a nation,” Evans aid. “We need to continue to explore and implement all options for decreasing our reliance on (foreign) oil.

“If this were an emergency situation, these possible negative effects might not matter at all,” he said.

Lawsuit called ‘frivolous’

The Highland Wind Farm edged closer to reality Sept. 30 when a federal judge ruled that claims against EEW by members of The Forest Voice — an opponent group — and their attorneys were “frivolous.”

The Forest Voice was formed after the project got initial approval from the Forest town board in 2010.

“We have been completely transparent through this entire process as we’ve tried to bring clean, renewable energy to St. Croix County,” Mundinger said. “Some very responsible town officials lost their jobs after initially approving our Highland Wind Farm two years ago, and we’ve been fighting ever since. We feel a level of vindication here.”

The opponents’ attorneys were ordered to pay a total of $1,500 to EEW.

Source

With the nation beset by record-breaking droughts and searing heat waves, support among Americans for less water-intensive alternative forms of power generation, including renewable energy, is strong, according to a new survey conducted for the Civil Society Institute.

Responding to a survey conducted July 26-30, 3 out of 4 Americans, including 61% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats and 80% of Independents, signaled that they favor more “water friendly” sources of power generation, such as wind and solar.

“A strong majority of Americans want to see a shift to cleaner, less-intensive energy to avoid water shortages and pollution,” Civil Society Institute President Pam Solo said in an Aug. 16 media conference call. “We believe this shows that the concerns about the drought and the water-energy nexus will spill over into the national policy debate about what constitutes clean and sustainable energy.” The Civil Society Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank.

ORC International, which conducted the survey and produced the report, “Drought, Water and Energy: A National Survey of Attitudes,” surveyed 1,017 adults via telephone, with an oversampling of at least 150 adults in the 10 drought states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina and Texas. The national survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, while the margin of error for each of the state surveys is plus or minus 8 percentage points.

Interest in less water-intensive forms of energy generation comes as nearly two-thirds of Americans — or 64% — indicated that the prospect of shortages of safe drinking water, either from drought or diversion for energy production, is a top concern, second only to worries about food prices. Predictably, a shortage of safe drinking water was the top concern in the drought-stricken states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina and Texas, where 63% of respondents indicated that they are “very concerned.”

The impact of droughts on Americans has been pervasive, with about 2 in 5 Americans, or 39%, indicating that they have personally experienced droughts in the past year, with much higher rates in the drought-affected states of Missouri, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

Nearly 50% of the water withdrawn in the U.S. is used by thermoelectric power plants. Coal-fired power plants and nuclear reactors use the water for cooling and generation of steam power. Despite greater deployment of renewable energy and a shift away from coal-fired power generation, the Civil Society Institute maintained that the power sector is increasingly water-intensive. Chief among the problems, it said, is the immense use of water for hydraulic fracturing for natural gas production and the continued use of older technology by coal-fired power plants.

Negative impacts on natural ecosystems are also a major concern. Power plants using once-through cooling withdraw huge quantities from rivers and lakes and release the water at higher temperatures, imperiling aquatic ecosystems.

Solo said that despite a mandate by Congress in 2005 for the U.S. Department of Energy to produce a water-energy road map, no action has been taken.

“Seven years later we have neither a road map nor a general understanding of what water resources we do have,” Solo said, highlighting concerns over food security as the energy and agricultural sectors and industrial and residential users compete for water resources. “The fact is we are flying blind today, when we could have had the foundation for a national water-energy plan in place years ago.”

The Civil Society Institute is in favor of phasing out coal-fired power, limiting growth in natural gas and avoiding construction of new nuclear power plants. Solo asserted that renewable energy, in conjunction with ramped-up energy efficiency in homes and businesses, can play a much larger role in the energy mix, substantially reducing the nation’s reliance on coal-fired and nuclear power.

“We have spent years talking about the problems of carbon when it comes to electricity generation, but this summer has been a real game-changer in the sense that sustained high temperatures and drought have put the focus on water,” Solo asserted. “Our new survey shows that citizens want to see a shift from use of water-intensive energy to cleaner, water-friendly alternatives like wind and solar.”

Original source: SNL