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January 5, 2008
Why didn’t they approve wind farm?
A letter to the editor of the La Crosse Tribune from Melvin Nelson, Arcadia:
At their board meeting Dec. 18, the Trempealeau County Board passed a resolution that would stop the construction of a large proposed wind farm in our county. This construction would have provided high paying jobs for as many as 250 workers during the two-year construction period. After completion, there would be five to 10 permanent workers.The total cost of the 41 towers and building construction would be more than $100 million. None of the costs would be provided by Trempealeau County or the electric utilities that would buy the energy.
The wind farm would provide enough energy to take care of 35,000 homes, which is more than all the homes in Trempealeau County. The farm would provide over $500,000 worth of property taxes each year.
The project would provide clean energy with a reduction in the amount of fossil fuel needed. This would result in the reduction of CO2 emissions and also the harmful effects of mercury into our lakes and streams.
Why did our board do this? There is a small group of people, some who live miles away from the proposed area, who are “not in my neighborhood” folks.
I suggest that you readers who agree with me that we better take this wind farm, if we can still get it, call your local board members and find out what they were thinking.
Board members voting against wind energy were:
Don Kloss, Independence; Ernest Vold, Osseo; Arild Engelien, Trempealeau; Charles Zauner, Galesville; George Brandt, Ettrick; Michelle Haines, Arcadia; Dick Miller, Taylor; Wally Geske, Blair; Barbara Semb, Whitehall, and John Bortle, Whitehall.
Posted by Ed Blume at January 5, 2008 9:58 AM