Better Plan, Rock County

wind mill on farm in Magnolia Township 1873

CLICK PICTURE FOR A LARGER IMAGE! This is an engraving of a farm in Magnolia Township in the 1870's.We have a tradition of using the wind here in Rock County, but the industrial-scale turbines being proposed for our community are quite different than this farmer's windmill.

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CLICK PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE! Most of us see large turbines from a distance. We are usually in a moving car when we see them. It can be very hard to understand just how big these machines really are and how much their constant movement is visible until you spend a few hours half a mile from a wind turbine. Most people never do this. Most of us just pass by them in a car and are entertained by the novelty of seeing them. We may have a feeling we know what wind farms are about because we've passed them in a car. Isn't this the same as someone who has never spent any time on a farm but has passed plenty of them in his car thinking he knows what it's like to be a farmer?

 A two story house is about 30 feet tall, a silo is between 60 and 8 feet tall. Our state capitol in Madison is 286 feet tall. The wind turbines proposed for our community are 400 feet tall, or 40 stories high. That's taller than any building in the state of Wisconsin except for one.

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Are industrial scale wind turbines a good fit for our community? We believe there are much better renewable energy options. Solar, biomass, manure digesters, ---technology is advancing rapidly in these areas,---  Are there better ways for us to spend our precious tax dollars? Should we transform our rural landscape into an industrial landscape for the next 30 years? Doing so will affect all of us while benefiting very few.

This is a picture of a Kansas Prairie Landscape

This was taken before the industrial wind turbines were put in.

After the Turbines

This is the kind of change an industrial sized wind farm brings to a landscape.
There are several ways of grouping turbines. They can be in a string along a ridge, a grid, or placed in loose or tighter non grid groups. We don't yet know how many turbines there will be or where they will be placed in Magnolia Township. The current laws say that no Environmental Impact Study is required unless there are plans to put up at least 67 turbines. The proposed number for our area is 66.(UPDATE:EcoEnergy told the Janesville Gazette that new number IS 67 turbines. So an Environmental Impact study may be done.)

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Our farmland is our treasure. There are so many renewable energy options for our community. Biofuel and Biomass are two forms or renewable energy that are perfect for our region and won't blight the landscape, cause health and safety problems, or cause trouble with our neighbors.

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(CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE)

Where do the developers plan to put the turbines? This is the question we all want to know! BPRC contacted EcoEnergy to ask for a map, and were told they had no map to distribute that would be reliable. We then asked if we could assume that the turbines would be sited on the high ground of Magnolia Township and were told that "as a general rule, wind turbines are sited on high, open areas, where there are few obstructions to block the wind." This is a map of where the high grounds are located in our community. There are documented problems from wind turbine noise and shadow flicker for homes located within 1.5 miles of a turbine. Currently, Wisconsin State has no set back law. A wind turbine may be erected less than 1000 feet of a house, school, church, nursing home, community center or other inhabited structure. According to an 8/13/07 article in the Janesville Gazette, the new proposed number of turbines is 67. They are each 40 stories tall. Where will they all go? How close will they be to your home? Please contact EcoEnergy and urge the developer to give our community a map of proposed sites. (Contact Them Here)

Mineral Point Road

This is an ink painting by a local artist who has done many landscape paintings of our area. This is of Mineral Point and Lone Rock Road near Footville.

Footville's Lone Rock Restoration Project

The rock formation at Mineral Point and Lone Rock road near Footville is a distinctive community landmark which was covered up by an over growth of honey locust trees until recently when work was begun to restore the native prairie landscape there. Studies from the University of Minnesota show that mixtures of plants native to midwestern prairies can give a better energy return as biofuel than corn and soybeans do. Biofuel production from grassland plants would also result in lower emissions of carbon dioxide and reduced pollution from agricultural chemicals. These plants are perrenial. Once plant they will require no further cultivation, fertilization or pesticides. It's a type of renewable energy we are especially suited for.

A view of from Center Township

Another painting of our area. When we take our landscape for granted and forget how rare and beautiful it really is, landscape painters can help us remember. This is a veiw from Center Township

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Norwegian Creek in the winter, seen from Dorner and Fromholz roads.

Got Turbines on the Brain?

Some people look at an industrial wind turbine and see money. Some look at it and see their lives and the land around them being changed forever. The one thing we all can agree on is this Industrial Wind farm will be one of the largest in Wisconsin and it's something we all need to think hard about. Feel free to email this image or print it out and pass it on. The more people we have at the October 23 Magnolia Township meeting the better informed our community will be.

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Send Us Your Rock County Pictures!

We would love to post any pictures you may have of our area. We especially appreciate historical photos of both people and farms. We'd like to put them up to help people remember their community roots and to give us a chance to see pictures from Rock County that we might all get a kick out of. Email any photos you wish to share to betterplan.rockcounty@gmail.com

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This flier is provided by the BPRC for people to print and pass around to invite community members to the informational workshop! Have you ever been to a township meeting? It's free! It's easy! It's one way you can make a real difference. All you need to do is show up.

The Mystery of the 1000 foot Set Back!

The state of Wisconsin believes it's safe to raise our kids 1000 feet from an industrial wind turbine, but where did that set back distance come from? They can't tell us! There isn't any documentation which supports the 1000 foot setback, but there is plenty of scientific and medical documentation to support a further set back to insure there are no problems for the people who have to live among wind turbines.

Safer Set Backs Please!

Click on this picture to make it larger.

Safer Setback Elephant

That elephant is still in the room!