11/13/09: Spring Valley joins four other Rock County Towns by passing a large wind ordinance with 2640 foot setback. Still no response from the wind developer about their plans for our community.
SPECIAL TO ROCK COUNTY:
A few weeks ago we sent an inquiry to EcoEnergy LLC about the status of the proposed 67 turbine wind farm in the Town of Magnolia.
Five contiguous Rock County Towns have now adopted wind ordinances with a setback of 2640 feet. These include Magnolia, Union, Center, Janesville and Spring Valley.
Better Plan contacted the developer to ask for their response to this, and for an update on their plans for our community. We have not received a reply.
If you would like to contact them and ask them yourself, they can be reached by clicking here:
WHY YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED:
EcoEnergy has had wind prospectors in each of the five Rock County Towns listed above. They've signed up landowners to lease their land to host turbines and they've sold the rights to those leases to Acciona, a Spanish company.
This is from the EcoEnergy website [click here for source]
What is shadow flicker?
Shadow flicker is the term used to describe what happens when rotating turbine blades come between the viewer and the sun, causing a moving shadow effect. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the National Academy of Sciences found in May, 2007 that "In the United States, shadow flicker has not been identified as causing even mild annoyance. In northern Europe, on the other hand, because of the higher latitude and lower angle of the sun, especially in winter, shadow flicker can be a problem of concern."
Shadow flicker is almost never a problem for residences near new wind energy facilities, and in the few cases where it could be, it is easily avoided through careful siting.
THIS IS SHADOW FLICKER FILMED BY A WISCONSIN WIND FARM RESIDENT near Town of Byron, in Fond du Lac County.
The BPRC Research Nerd
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