They’re a human addition to the landscape that embraces nature’s energy instead of manipulating her resources. They’re a polluter of noise, imposing their incessant racket on the once peaceful country community.

They’re a sign of economic potential bringing money back to the struggling farming communities. They’re a property value killer and a burden for anyone trying to run a business.

They’re a break from the billboard-plagued highways, admired from passenger seats and rearview mirrors. They’re an energy developer’s dream at the cost of local communities and native ecosystems.

…the praises and complaints don’t end here on Wisconsin wind farm proposals, and the debate which has gust through the nation is gaining momentum in the state.

In the past month, Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Green Bay, and Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, introduced the Sensible Wind Siting Policy (AB 899 / SB 544). These two pieces of legislation essentially promote small wind farms by allowing the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to decide if they meet state regulations.

In the past, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission has been responsible for approving the construction of any windmill producing over 100 megawatts of energy. If a smaller wind farm wanted approval, it would have to go through the local community ordinances, often a tedious process that stalled and prevented many wind farms from developing.

This legislation aims to alleviate local control on wind farms in order to promote the new form of renewable energy. 

The result: rural Wisconsinites are less than thrilled. Many welcome wind farms understanding their potential benefits, but others view them as incompetent solutions to the state’s environmental, social, and economic problems. Still, both sides agree that they want a say in the fate of their communities.

The truth about wind energy in Wisconsin is the same anywhere else in the nation -- some places will benefit, some places won’t. And in many cases, the people who know their communities the best feel that they should have a say in wind farm proposals. This past week, many rural Wisconsinites made a trek to the State Capitol to voice their opinion on the new legislation in an open hearing.

An article from the Green Bay Press-Gazette recounts the story of an Evansville native, Lynda Barry-Kawula, who expressed her concern over the legislation. She believes that the noise from a proposed 67-piece wind farm, based across the street from her house, would force her to move.

Others targeted the aesthetic components of wind farms, insisting their property value would inevitably decline.

Complaints about wind farms extend beyond economics and aesthetics. In eastern Wisconsin, environmental impacts play a bigger role in the community’s willingness to accept the turbines.

The Fond du Lac Reporter released a story earlier this year about environmental advocates in Brownsville. In 2005, they petitioned to enact a five-mile setback on wind farms on the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. Though the group settled for a two-mile setback, the proposed legislation could overturn this, and the Horicon’s fragile ecosystem may be threatened.

However, Wisconsin advocates of wind farms are just as plentiful in these rural communities.

They say the noise from a busy intersection trumps the grumbles of the turbines. They say their impact on the landscape is less unsightly than a crane or a Wal Mart. They say the economy will grow when Wisconsin stops importing coal, and starts exporting energy. They say we underestimate our ecosystems, that the potential loss of bird populations is negligible compared to the threat of extinction prompted by global climate change.

Regardless of where they sit on the debate, Wisconsinites on both ends of the issue will watch the fate of their political voices play out on the legislative floor.