NEWS

Wind energy is still cleanest resource out there

08/10/2009

Wisconsin has a vast, largely untapped resource and disagreements about how to tap that resource. A bill making its way to the state Senate could help resolve some of those disputes.

The resource is wind, which rushes across the Niagara Escarpment with a fury that produces a viable source of electricity. Hundreds of wind turbines are being constructed along the escarpment, and several alarmed communities have been throwing up roadblocks to slow or halt their development.

Senate Bill 185 would require the state Public Service Commission to develop a standardized set of rules to replace what is now a confusing patchwork of state laws and municipal ordinances. A community could establish its own set of rules as long as they are not more restrictive than the PSC regulations.

And citizens unhappy with the actions of their municipality could appeal to the PSC.

Wind energy is considered a sustainable, renewable resource, but the turbines create their own set of objections. The whirling blades have been known to knock flying birds out of the sky, and some people consider the proliferation of windmills along the escarpment an eyesore.

However, we have built our society around the use of electricity. The traditional sources of this energy — coal, oil and other fossil fuels — inject a lot more mess into the environment than wind turbines. An alternative to burning carbon is nuclear energy, which has its own set of objections and opponents.

Conservation must play a role, but although researchers are constantly working to develop more energy-efficient devices, we still have to get that electricity from somewhere. With apologies to the birds and people who don’t like the view, capturing the power of the wind is one of the cleanest alternatives available — and far more aesthetically pleasing than a coal strip mine.

SB 185 has the co-sponsorship of state Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, and Reps. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, and Jim Soletski, D-Green Bay, who don’t see eye-to-eye on many political issues.

Last week the bill cleared the Senate Committee on Commerce, Utilities, Energy, and Rail by a 6-1 vote. Senate leaders should schedule a vote so the measure can go to the Assembly and eventually the governor’s desk. If it will lead to clarity about the rules and an easily understood appeals process, the proposal would help both sides of the wind energy issue.