Wind Farm Near Wilton

A windfarm near Wilton could double next year Renewable energy has been a big point of emphasis in recent years In North Dakota Wind Farms have been popping up all over the state Now a proposal would double the size of the wind farm near Wilton But the issues are more complicated than determining where to put the towers Brad Feldman reports Cutting through the air Turbines are sending electricity down the line These sixty-six wind turbines sit in Ecklund Township a county that has control of it s planning and zoning A proposal for sixty-six more turbines would add more to the townships grid but some turbines would flow over into another township thirty-three turbines are planned for Crofte township a township that gave up it s planning and zoning control years ago Gary Small Crofte Township Board Member Right to govern housing and everything they turned that over to Burleigh County authority so we don t need to make no rules We go by Burleigh County Rules Gary Small is a Crofte Township Board Member He says in hindsight it probably would have been better to keep the issues in the townships control Gary Small Crofte Township Board Member You have no say on anything all we are is a gravel crew We gravel roads and maintain the roads and that is all we do Small and the rest of the Crofte Township board wait for Burleigh County Planning officials to write an ordiance Up to now Burleigh County has no regulations on commercial sized wind farms Greg Greenquist in the Community Development office says they have been gathering ordinances from other communities Greg Greenquist Bismarck Community Development We dont have to reinvent the wheel here but we are looking really closely at compatability issues with turbines and households Greenquist says two of the main issues they will have to consider is noise and appearance The same two issues that seem to strike a cord with residents in the area Gary Small Crofte Township Board Member I am not against it I am really not against the towers You are not going to stop them You want to go green we are going to go green Near Baldwin Brad Feldman KX News A public input meeting on the proposed wind farm has been scheduled for next Thursday December tenth from seven to nine in the evening at the Baldwin School