Dispute over wind turbine setbacks continues

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MADISON - The issue of rules changes for siting Wisconsin wind turbines is far from dead. This week a legislative committee will begin the process of reviewing existing rules, and the committee members may well recommend the sorts of changes proposed by Governor Walker.

Former State Senator Bob Welch is spokesman for the Coalition for Wisconsin Environmental Stewardship, a group which wants the setbacks for wind turbines increased. Welch says wind turbines are fine for places such as North Dakota. “But if you’re putting them in the middle of a highly developable, growing area like they want to put them here, on the east side of Lake Winnebago, you’re going to see a huge negative impact to our economic development, and cost us a lot of jobs,” said Welch, who added that “windmill ghettos” will put the brakes on residential and commercial development.

But Keith Reopelle with Clean Wisconsin counters that, saying that changing the rules could also cost jobs – and not just the construction work associated with installing turbines and towers. “It definitely would put a chilling effect on the state’s ability to attract those new jobs, or for our current manufacturers to expand,” Reopelle said. “It may also threaten existing jobs we have here in the state, manufacturing wind turbine parts.”

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