Brown County group opposes new wind turbine rules

From an article by Tony Walter in the Green Bay Press-Gazette:

A group of Brown County residents opposing the rules for wind turbines in four communities located in the southern part of the county is accusing the regulatory agency that came up with the siting regulations of dirty politics.

"Brown County Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy believe these rules directly threaten the health, safety and financial well-being of countless rural Wisconsin communities," said Steve Deslauriers of Greenleaf, a spokesman for the group.

The PSC last week voted unanimously to send updated wind turbine siting rules back to the state Legislature.

The updated rules reduce the setback requirement from nonparticipating property owners to either 1,250 feet or three times the maximum blade tip height, whichever is less. They also reduce the amount of payments to nonparticipating property owners adjacent to land that includes a turbine.

According to Deslauriers, the new rules ignored concerns from a Senate committee and those of many organizations that the setbacks were insufficient and that there should be further study of the potential health impact of turbines.

He also said the timing of the rules update is unfair because the Legislature is in transition after the recent election and legislators are preparing for the holidays. He called the PSC action "the embodiment of dirty politics."

The House and Senate energy committees have until Dec. 23 to respond to the updated rules. If no action is taken, the rules will go into effect Jan. 1.

RENEW Wisconsin praised the new rules, as a "reasonable balance between protecting public health and safety and advancing wind energy generation, a proven pathway for creating well-paying jobs and increasing revenues to local governments."