Copyright 2002 Journal Sentinel Inc.  
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
February 17, 2002 Sunday ALL EDITION
SECTION: CROSSROADS; Pg. 04J

LENGTH: 565 words

HEADLINE: Power: Earth ;
Power: Earth, wind and ire

BYLINE: FRANZEN

BODY:
From the Town of Addison to the halls of Washington, the potential for wind-based production of energy in the United States apparently has stalled -- but only temporarily, if Congress and the American public have any common sense at all.

At a conference last month on expanding renewable energy on public lands, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said, "We must explore ways to better capture the sun's light, the sky's winds, the land's bounty and the earth's heat to provide energy security for America's families."

She's right, of course, as is the Bush administration's constant refrain that the U.S. must wean itself from its addiction to foreign oil. But no single alternative will suffice; only a balanced approach of conservation, exploitation of domestic resources and development of alternative renewable sources can do the job.

Wind farms can be an important part of that package. Of all the renewable alternatives, wind energy has come closest in recent years to becoming competitive with more traditional, and dirtier, energy sources.

Unfortunately, renewal of a key tax credit that has fostered the growth of wind production facilities got tied up in Congress, victim of the partisan fight over economic stimulus legislation. With the demise of that legislation, the credit is now in a kind of limbo, waiting -- along with some other credits -- to be attached to another bill that actually has a chance of passing. It's not that the measure is controversial; legislators on both sides of the aisle support the credit. It's simply a matter of attaching it to the right bill, supporters say.

As things stand, investors aren't very willing to plunk down money, and wind production facilities aren't moving forward. (By the way, those who argue that wind power should be forced to survive without any government support should apply that same argument to the oil, gas and coal industries -- and then listen to the screams.)

Clearly, Congress should make an exception to its partisan bickering, approve the wind production tax credit and do it soon.

That's an easy call, but the situation represented by Addison is more problematic. There, a proposed wind farm became so controversial that town government was unable to function for two months last summer. The town Plan Commission put so many restrictions on the proposal that the company decided to pull back its application, saying the project just wasn't worth the trouble.

Such public opposition is rare, but residents in this case complained about noise, flying ice and even shadows of spinning propellers from the proposed turbines. While those concerns were undoubtedly sincere, if perhaps misplaced, there also was a strong hint of NIMBYism underneath the opposition.

One of the opposition organizers has said that Addison won't be the last such fight in Wisconsin. And in cases where wind farm proposals represent a real threat to the environment, such fights are obviously warranted and deserve widespread public support.

But wind farms for the most part are a much more benign technology than, say, coal-fired power plants. And while wind will never completely supplant other sources of energy, it can be a vital part of a balanced strategy that is cleaner and less dependent on foreign oil.

That's a worthy goal for Congress and the American people, including those who live in Addison.



LOAD-DATE: February 17, 2002