A town of about 600 residents in western Wisconsin has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and taken out a line of credit to fight a wind farm the local elected board once approved.
Utility regulators decided Friday to postpone the deadline for starting construction on a wind farm in western Wisconsin until after the project is no longer facing challenges in court.
A developer is predicting that a favorable decision in a case pending before a St. Croix County judge would be a signal to the wind farm industry to start building in Wisconsin again.
Advocates of renewable energy are expressing some hope that a soon-to-be-released report will put to rest persisting debate about whether wind farms are unhealthy for those who live nearby.
Proponents of renewable energy hailed the state’s preliminary approval Thursday of a wind farm planned for western Wisconsin as a sign that developers can expect even-handed treatment under the state’s wind-energy rule.