Siting rules for wind farms in WI still stuck

MADISON, Wis. — Hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in potential economic development are in limbo as Wisconsin officials continue to argue over new siting rules for wind farms.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports the new rules were more than a year in the making, but they were suspended earlier this year just before they were to go into effect.

A legislative committee sent them back to the Public Service Commission, which was tasked with finding a compromise between both sides. Seven months later, PSC officials say they still aren’t close to a deal.

PSC spokeswoman Kristin Ruesch said many of the sticking points remain the same, such as noise levels and the effects turbines have on neighboring property owners.

The commission spent more than a year working out the original rules with Democrats and Republicans, the wind industry and its critics. They were scheduled to go into effect in March.

However, after taking office in January, Republican Gov. Scott Walker introduced a bill to increase setbacks from the nearest property line from roughly 450 feet to about 1,800 feet.

That proposal appealed to wind industry critics and the real estate industry, but officials in the wind industry said the governor’s proposal would ruin their business in Wisconsin.

Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said the original rules were the result of a bipartisan agreement, and he thinks the governor just doesn’t like the industry.

Walker said he is aware of the stress caused by the delay but feels it is important any rules be fair to both sides, respecting property rights and the future of the wind industry.

If no changes are made by March, the original ones go into effect. However, two bills sit in legislative committees designed to kill the original rules and force the state to start from scratch.

Meanwhile, wind farm developers are sitting on their hands, and their money. Five major wind farms have now been suspended or canceled, costing the state about $1.6 billion in economic development and almost 1,000 temporary and full-time jobs.

One of those was a large wind farm planned for Calumet County by Midwest Wind Energy of Chicago. Tim Polz, vice president of Midwest Wind, said his company had spent three years and about $1 million developing the project before putting it on hold.

“Right now, we just don’t have a path forward in Wisconsin,” Polz said. “The uncertainty is just too much now.”