FAA gives OK to two wind power projects in Wisconsin

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Sunday, 17 September 2006

MILWAUKEE - The Federal Aviation Administration has given approval to two Wisconsin wind power projects that were stalled by concerns that the turbines may interfere with military radar.

Permits have been issued for the Forward Wind Energy Center in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties and the Butler Ridge wind farm in Dodge County, said Bruce Beard, the FAA manager in Texas responsible for the office that issues permits.

"The (permits) are through. We are absolutely through with them, and they have got clearance to start building them," Beard said Friday.

The Wisconsin projects are among many across the Midwest that were stalled by the radar issues. In recent weeks, however, permits have been granted to projects not only in Wisconsin, but also Minnesota and South Dakota.

The Forward Wind Energy Center project - a 133-turbine development near the Horicon Marsh - is one of the largest wind farms on the drawing board in Wisconsin.

A bureaucratic delay was created by a provision in a congressional bill that wind energy companies say was drafted to create more hurdles for a high-profile and controversial offshore wind project near Nantucket, Mass.

The law required the Department of Defense to issue a report assessing the impact that development of wind turbines would have on military radar.

The radar issue emerged because of the stepped-up role the U.S. military has taken in the surveillance of U.S. airspace since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Beard said that in the case of the Horicon radar, a wind power project already in the area has created problems for the radar, but the FAA concluded that adding more turbines won't aggravate the problem.

The Forward project, being developed by Invenergy of Chicago, has received all of its regulatory permits, but the developer still awaits resolution of a lawsuit filed by project opponents.

They have raised concerns that the wind turbines would be placed too close to the Horicon Marsh, a national wildlife refuge. To address that concern, state regulators required that turbines be placed at least two miles from the edge of the marsh. After losing their first appeal in Dodge County Circuit Court, the opponents have appealed to the state Court of Appeals.