A letter to the editor of the Sheboygan Press written by Maureen Faller, a member of the board of directors of RENEW and co-owner of Kettle View Renewable Energy:
It is not surprising that the proposed Windy Acres Wind Farm project in the Town of Sherman has become a highly emotional debate. However, as a citizen, tax payer and small business owner in the Town of Sherman, I am concerned about the vast amount of misleading information that is being circulated throughout our community.
We’ve been barraged with flyers of burning wind turbines, yet the likelihood of this occurring is less than .001% based on 165,000 wind turbines installed worldwide. By comparison, our local fire department was dispatched to two car fires this month alone.
We’ve heard about the wind turbines affecting our property values, however an independent study conducted by the firm Poletti and Associates recently concluded otherwise. In Kewaunee County, which hosts two of the oldest commercial wind projects in the United States, their report suggests no statistically significant effect on the sale of homes or construction of new homes. Furthermore, there is no credible evidence that existing wind development in Wisconsin has depressed property values statewide. In fact, according to data compiled by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance on property values and levies, in Fond du Lac County, equalized valuation actually increased by 1.2% during that time, while Dodge and Kewaunee counties managed smaller declines than the statewide average during that period.
We’ve been told of the ensuing health effects that will plague our families and animals. However, thorough studies by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Australian Government National Health & Medical Research Council, the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario, Canada and the United Kingdom have each concluded that wind turbines do not pose a health threat. More recently, Kitty Rhoades, the Deputy Secretary of the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Governor Walker appointee, could not have been more clear when she affirmed Wisconsin’s stance that the “levels of noise, flicker and infrasound measured from wind turbines at current setback distances do not reach those that have been associated with objective physical health effects.”
Senator Grothman recently insinuated that a wind farm was not welcome in the Town of Sherman. Considering that the July 24 town meeting was attended by more people from Brown County, Manitowoc County and other areas outside our township, I find the senator’s assessment quite presumptive. He may be interested in knowing that recent polling shows that 85% of his fellow Wisconsinites support an increased use of wind power to meet our energy needs, because wind power provides safe, homegrown energy and creates family-supporting jobs across the state.
It is important that we recognize the benefits of the proposed wind farm in the Town of Sherman and do not allow a vocal minority to control this important debate. This is precisely what the anti-wind groups hope to achieve. Deceptive propaganda is their only weapon, because the benefits of sustainable, clean energy and local job creation are irrefutable. Questioning their allegations, asking them for independent third-party data and educating ourselves is our greatest defense. There is truth in education. As quoted by the Dalai Lama “Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.”
From an article by Josh Lintereur in the Sheboygan Press:
A more than 400-acre property in the Town of Sherman could become home to Sheboygan County’s first commercial wind farm.
A Hubertus-based developer, EEW Services, LLC, told leaders of the southern Sheboygan County township this week that it intends to submit a formal application to begin construction there next year on the Windy Acres Wind Farm.
Under the proposal, four wind turbines would be built on a stretch of land located east of state Highway 57, west of county Highway CC and north of county Highway A.
William Rakocy, managing member of EEW Services, said the site is well-suited for a wind farm due to its wind capacity and proximity to transmission infrastructure.
“The first thing we look for is adequate wind resources, and the second thing we look for is adequate transmission and then thirdly, willing participants,” he said.
The wind farm would produce between nine and 12 megawatts of electricity, or enough power for about 4,000 average residential homes. The turbine blades would reach as high as 500 feet and connect to a substation in the Town of Holland.
Highland Wind Farm is a $250 million proposed wind project for the Town of Forest in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. It will generate 102.5 megawatts of electricity from 41 turbines.
From a story by Jeff Holmquist in the Pierce County Herald:
Developers of the proposed Highland Wind Farm in the Town of Forest, Wis. will not be required to complete an environmental impact statement.
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin issued a decision on the possible EIS requirement on July 25.
While the five-page document outlines several potential impacts that the wind farm project could have on landowners and the surrounding landscape, its conclusion is that there is “no significant impact” expected from the proposal.
Forcing an EIS typically slows down the approval process for such projects. With last week’s decision, final approval of the 41-turbine wind farm might come in the next few months.
Jay Mundinger, founding principal of the Highland Wind Farm project, said he was very pleased with the news.
Highland developers have worked with expert consultants to design and install the project in such a way that it would have little or no impact on the community, Mundinger said. He said the PSC apparently recognized that is the case as well.
“We’ve worked hard to protect the environment,” he said.
The PSC’s preliminary environmental assessment acknowledged that the large turbines would “affect the visual character” of the township. There may also be some increase in “ambient noise” near the turbines and “shadow flicker” (the blinking created on homes as the sun is blocked by the twirling blades) when the project is installed, the report concedes. There would also likely be some bird and bat losses as a result of the turning turbines, the report states.
But taking everything into consideration, the report’s author, Environmental Planning Analyst Kathy Zuelsdorff, concluded that the impacts are “typical of modern wind projects” and “would not result in significant environmental effects on the human environment.”
From a story by Jeff Holmquist in the Pierce County Herald:
Developers of the proposed Highland Wind Farm in the Town of Forest, Wis. will not be required to complete an environmental impact statement.
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin issued a decision on the possible EIS requirement on July 25.
While the five-page document outlines several potential impacts that the wind farm project could have on landowners and the surrounding landscape, its conclusion is that there is “no significant impact” expected from the proposal.
Forcing an EIS typically slows down the approval process for such projects. With last week’s decision, final approval of the 41-turbine wind farm might come in the next few months.
Jay Mundinger, founding principal of the Highland Wind Farm project, said he was very pleased with the news.
Highland developers have worked with expert consultants to design and install the project in such a way that it would have little or no impact on the community, Mundinger said. He said the PSC apparently recognized that is the case as well.
“We’ve worked hard to protect the environment,” he said.
The PSC’s preliminary environmental assessment acknowledged that the large turbines would “affect the visual character” of the township. There may also be some increase in “ambient noise” near the turbines and “shadow flicker” (the blinking created on homes as the sun is blocked by the twirling blades) when the project is installed, the report concedes. There would also likely be some bird and bat losses as a result of the turning turbines, the report states.
But taking everything into consideration, the report’s author, Environmental Planning Analyst Kathy Zuelsdorff, concluded that the impacts are “typical of modern wind projects” and “would not result in significant environmental effects on the human environment.”
