Wind farm plans worry neighbors
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Joanie and Donavon Mitchell, left, and their Dorner Road neighbors, Kevin and Linda Kawula, are concerned about the negative aspects of a possible wind farm near their homes in Spring Valley Township.
SPRING VALLEY TOWNSHIP — When Kevin and Lynda Kawula first heard about a wind farm proposal for Magnolia Township, they thought it sounded like a good idea.
But as they attended meetings and researched the issue, their opinions changed.
“It seemed like enough people were concerned that we got concerned,” he said.
They learned about wind farms and proposals in other parts of the state that included lawsuits and the demolition of homes.
“We thought if it really was about getting Wisconsin renewable energy, then we could come up with a better plan,” Kevin said.
Thus sprouted “Better Plan, Rock County,” a group of concerned residents to provide information about the local wind farm proposals and research renewable energy alternatives. The group does not have formal meetings, but the Kawulas developed and run a Web site at http://betterplan.squarespace.com.
They’ve also paid for ads in local newspapers urging residents to attend town wind meetings, and they’re providing information to town officials.
EcoEnergy is gathering data from a weather tower and is proposing a 67-turbine, 100-megawatt project for Magnolia Township. The company also wants to put up three turbines in Union Township.
The Kawulas live on Dorner Road in Spring Valley Township, just across the border of Magnolia Township. While EcoEnergy has not signed land agreements or released a map of proposed turbine sites, Kevin said turbines likely would be visible from their home because of the high elevation.
Across the road in Magnolia Township, Joanie and Donavon Mitchell share the Kawulas’ concerns.
“Fear of the unknown,” is how Joanie describes the thought of nearly 400-foot neighbors.
She said she’s worried about health and safety problems, the change in the landscape, wildlife and how big business would profit more than affected landowners. She’s frustrated by the lack of information from developers about where the turbines would be sited.
That information isn’t ready yet, said Curt Bjurlin, Wisconsin Project Developer of EcoEnergy.
The company should have maps available by late winter, but they won’t show the proposed locations of the turbines but rather the best suitable areas, he said.
Researching alternative energy has turned into a second job for the Kawulas, who both are self-employed.
“But that’s OK,” Kevin said. “If we’re here to figure out what we can do for our state and our country, that’s what I’m here to do.”
Kevin is a land preservationist who runs his own small native plant nursery, while Lynda is a writer and writing teacher.
Their opposition to the local wind farm proposals rest in two areas:
Health and safety concerns for neighbors of the turbines.
The idea that other renewable energy options such as solar or manure digesters are a better fit for Rock County.
The Kawulas visited the Montfort wind farm in Iowa County. It has 20 turbines with 30 megawatts of capacity.
“It’s like moving back into a metropolitan area,” he said. “It’s an airport where the planes never land.”
Being around the turbines and high voltage power lines make Kevin feel physically ill with pressure headaches, he said.
“I think it’s because they’re big machines that are generating electricity,” he said. “It’s just what they do.”
Bjurlin said he hasn’t seen any peer-reviewed, scientific studies that show turbines cause headaches.
Meeting the state’s mandate by 2015 of producing 10 percent of its energy from a renewable source—one of the big reasons why wind energy is increasing—could be done on a household level, Kevin said.
The Kawulas, for example, eliminated the need for propane by heating with wood and hanging their clothes instead of using a dryer. The couple also are looking into a solar energy system for their home. People could reduce their lawnmower use by reducing the size of their lawn with wildflowers, Kevin said.
The millions of dollars that would be poured into the wind farm could pay for manure digesters for every big dairy farm in Rock County and solar panel systems for municipal buildings, Kevin said.
The Kawulas want to say, “Nice try, but let’s go back to the drawing board.”
“It’s a marginal market for wind here, not that it wouldn’t be profitable,” Kevin said. “For them it would, but I don’t know if it would be profitable for us as a society.”
EcoEnergy is a renewable energy company interested in all forms, Bjurlin said, and company officials think it’s appropriate for communities to investigate all options including solar and biomass. But, the company is only pursuing wind energy for Magnolia Township, he said.
To meet their company’s renewable energy portfolio standards set by the state, wind energy is the most easily scaled up to utility size, he said.
Kevin and Joanie said that while the money landowners would receive to host the turbines looks good for retirement, it pales in comparison to what the developers make.
“I don’t feel like it’s a partnership. It’s something else,” Kevin said.
The industry standard landowners receive for each 1.5 MW turbine on their land is $4,200 to $4,500 annually, and EcoEnergy expects to be around that ballpark, Bjurlin said.
Wisconsin wants to be the greenest state in the nation, and that’s what officials are focused on—not the best plan for our country, Joanie said.
“People don’t know what to expect,” she said of the turbines. “I don’t think they have any idea how high 400 feet is.”
TO LEARN MORE
To learn more about Better Plan, Rock County, visit its Web site at betterplan.squarespace.com or e-mail Kevin and Lynda Kawula at betterplan.rockcounty@gmail.com.
“The worst thing that can happen to a community is to have it torn apart by rumors and false information,” Lynda said. “It seems there has been a lot of strife and heartbreak in Magnolia Township over other issues, and I’ve found the people here to be extra cautious and even fearful of expressing their concerns.”
People contacting the couple can remain anonymous on the site. Lynda said she hopes the site provides a forum for people to feel secure enough to come forward with questions and have a place to go for information.
Jan 3, 2008 at 11 a.m.
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How can so many people want to have alternative energy options but then say, "not in my town."?? Its the typical secular progressive stance in this country now. Liberals want to have all of these alternatives, but they don't want it in their backyard.
Jan 3, 2008 at 10:44 a.m.
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I will check out betterplan.squarespace.com before making any serious comments but from the comments I have read it appears alternative sources of energy may be counter intuitive if the environment is the issue.
I will however express concern about the solar cell comment.
Yes they are expensive but they are also a long term solution. And, we in Wisconsin enjoy the sun, albeit sometimes @ 20 degrees below zero, frequent enough to justify solar.
But another consideration must be the cost of operation.
The cost of operating a wind farm is becoming competitive, the only REAL problem is reliability. This is the reason for studies and careful placement.
I do find it intriguing that people who appear to be environmentally concious would offer up alternatives that seem to not be as eco-friendly.
Dec 28, 2007 at 12:40 a.m.
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From http://www.energyjustice.net/digesters/
"Digesters are only marginally effective at reducing problems with odors, pathogens and greenhouse gas emissions from animal waste or sewage sludge, but they are incapable of making any chemical contaminants in the wastes go away. Digesters aren't emissions-free. They are known to emit nitrogen and sulfur oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and ammonia."
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From http://burningissues.org/freedman.html
"There is inadequate economic benefit to burn wood; a modern high efficiency oil, propane or natural gas appliance will out perform a wood or pellet stove. There can be significant health impacts; a wood stove is 500-1,000 times dirtier than a modern oil burner. Wood smoke emissions contain fine particulate pollution and can have similar detrimental health effects as tobacco smoke. Experts have documented that the chemical components in wood smoke cause irritation to the respiratory system causing bronchitis, asthma, and sinus infections weakening the immune system resulting in a lower resistance to infectious diseases."
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If the Kawula's don't like wind turbines, perhaps they should contact the Exelon Corporation and have them build a nuclear power plant in Rock County similar to the one outside Byron, IL. Unless Rock County reduces it's population to pre-industrial age levels (something not entirely impossible, given Governor Doyle's appetite for new taxes and user fees), wood or methane heating are totally unrealistic as mainstream solutions for the citizens to rely on.
Dec 27, 2007 at 11:12 p.m.
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I wonder why Janesville doesn't put a 400 foot windturbine in the parks or perhaps the Middle school. Why not if they are so safe to have near homes in Magnolia? Is that NIMBY?
Dec 27, 2007 at 9:15 p.m.
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wind farms are beautiful things. we need renewable energy, and they're becoming a necessity in this day and age.
i think people complain about anything just to complain.
Dec 27, 2007 at 5:33 p.m.
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anyone that travels I-39 south to I-80 (in ILL.) for sure will see what a true wind farm looks and sounds like. If you really want to know what the concerns and benifites are contact those that live and work there. manure digesters are used in rock county. just look to clinton for those answers and information. as far as solar goes......jeezes seems like everyone that had solar in the 70's and 80's got rid of it because we dont have enough sunlight hours to really make it pay.
Dec 27, 2007 at 3:29 p.m.
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Well put, hiredgun.
He should take an intro Psychology course, which would reveal the source of his headaches. Also, the electrical current bleeding from the overhead lines, if contained in a 10X10 room would cause headaches and ill feelings, but not in the open air. NIMBY, for sure.
Dec 27, 2007 at 11:51 a.m.
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Solar generators and manure digesters will both require power lines to transmit the electricity they produce. So Kevin's headaches wont go away any time soon.
Manure digesters also create methane. I'm no chemist, so correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't burning methane create carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas?
So where is the benefit of going those routes? They don't seem like good alternatives.
Aren't the real reasons the Kawulas oppose this project first, as Ms. Mitchell said, fear of the unknown, and second, fear of lower property values? Isn't this just another NIMBY response?
While well meaning people like the Kawulas try to stall better options to what we have now, global warming continues and our atmosphere is further polluted by coal-fired generating plants. A wind farm may not be perfect, but its better than burning coal.
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