Wind Siting Bill Passed

In our third annual Sustainability Issue, we looked at the possibility of taking Door County off the power grid with a dream scenario of providing all of its own energy.

The Wisconsin legislature passed a bill that would make wind turbine siting standards uniform in September. Photo by Dan Eggert.

A combination of wind and solar power seemed most promising, but wind power has met staunch resistance on the peninsula from folks who dislike the aesthetic or are concerned about noise or birds. County and municipal ordinances have made it all but impossible to site turbines in Door County.

Wind farm proponents and developers throughout Wisconsin have been stymied by a patchwork of individual municipal ordinances to regulate wind farm siting for several years. In September, however, a small step was taken to improve the prospects for wind power expansion.

The Wisconsin Legislature passed a measure that provides for the creation of state-wide wind siting rules Sept. 16. The old patchwork system discouraged the construction of small- and medium-sized wind farms, placing the state at a disadvantage in the clean energy economy as businesses choose to take their projects to neighboring states. The bill charged the state Public Service Commission with setting statewide standards but didn’t dictate what those standards should be. It was introduced by Rep. Jim Soletski (D-Green Bay) and Sen. Jeff Plale (D-Milwaukee) and co-authored by Sen. Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac) and Rep. Phil Montgomery (R-Green Bay).

Though it may take another year or two for the standards to be set in stone, the move represented another step toward making local energy production possible.