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chickens their tamily has hunted fort e
<br /> past half century.
<br /> W ,] ) "I agree this is a prime choice for a
<br /> ind-Turbine Plans • wind farm," says the 51-year-old Mrs.
<br /> Sundgren. "But they can build them
<br /> Jolt Kansas Ranchers, someplace else."
<br /> Zilkha withdrew its proposal after the
<br /> 1i S • 81 Yu�/'+ , county delayed its review of the project
<br /> plit preen Groups in the face of the protest. In neighboring
<br /> Page Chase County, Ms. Koger says she was
<br /> Continued From H among eight other landowners rejecting
<br /> ness. One large turbine can produce a FPL's proposal to put up a wind farm on
<br /> megawatt or more of electricity, enough their properties. .
<br /> •
<br /> to power 300 to 400 homes,with almost no Farther north, in Wabaunsee County,
<br /> pollution,industry executives say.And in another group of about nine landowners
<br /> the Flint Hills, an area about 200 miles turned down a proposal for a wind farm
<br /> 1 long and 40 miles wide, developers say by JW Prairie Windpower, a subsidiary
<br /> their wind farms would occupy only tiny of Jowl, an international renewable-en- .
<br /> I parts of the rolling prairie, not dominate ergy company in Germany. As many as
<br /> 1 the landscape as many critics suggest. 100 local residents crammed into monthly
<br /> "We're not talking thousands of wind tur- meetings of the Wabaunsee County plan-
<br /> bines, or even a thousand," says Bob ning commission for 18 months to protest
<br /> Bergstrom,executive director of wind de- wind-farm plans there, prompting the •
<br /> velopment for FPL Energy, a subsidiary county to institute a local ban on giant
<br /> of FPL Group Inc., Juno Beach, Fla. wind turbines this past summer.
<br /> The developers began flocking to Kan- JW Prairie officials say they were Bur-
<br /> sas four years ago, after research was prised at the opposition, having secured
<br /> shown at a Kansas State University con- commitments for wind-turbine ease- •
<br /> ference that the Sunflower State ranked ments from some two dozen landowners
<br /> near the top in the country for wind-en- in the county. They also say the part of
<br /> ergy potential. FPL rushed to far-western the Flint Hills they selected had been
<br /> Kansas to put up the state's first large- plowed over in the past and so wasn't as
<br /> scale wind farm. Dwarfed by the expanse important as more pristine areas. "In '..
<br /> of the Great Plains, the wind turbines picking our site,we tried to pick the least '
<br /> drew little controversy; in fact,many res- controversial," says Jennifer States,
<br /> managing director of JW Prairie, •
<br /> Lawrence, Kan.
<br /> A big turbine produces After the Wabaunsee ban, Ms. States
<br /> says JW has shifted its focus to neighbor-
<br /> enoug'h electricity to ing Morris County, while FPL has se-
<br /> cured commitments from other landown-
<br /> poWer 300 to 400 ers in Chase County. ,.
<br /> •
<br /> The wind-turbine controversy has •
<br /> •
<br /> homes, proponents say. turned neighbor against neighbor.
<br /> Some landowners who have agreed to
<br /> wind deals say that their property ;'
<br /> rights are being trampled by their
<br /> idents clamored for more. According to neighbors and that the threat of the •
<br /> •
<br /> Tom Sloan,a Kansas state representative turbines is grossly exaggerated. "I see
<br /> who advocates wind energy, almost half ' the beauty of technology meeting the
<br /> the state's 105 counties lost population beauty of nature," says 53-year-old
<br /> •
<br /> during the 1990s.amid shaky farming Rick Griffin, a local rancher and real-
<br /> economies, and so could benefit from the estate agent who committed to letting
<br /> new revenue. In addition to paying land- FPL put turbines on his ranch.
<br /> owners for using their property,the devel- Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a
<br /> opers typically also give money to local Democrat, last December asked the wind
<br /> government and schools. developers to use "restraint" as she as-
<br /> But seeing that western Kansas was sembled a task force to assess the situa-
<br /> located far from major population centers tion. That put a halt to most projects. •
<br /> and lacked adequate electricity-transmis- The task force has recommended keep-
<br /> sion capacity to support many more wind ing all large wind turbines out of the
<br /> farms, FPL and other developers looked Flint Hills, while allowing them in areas
<br /> to another windy area—the Flint Hills in not considered sensitive, says Lee Alli-
<br /> eastern Kansas—for more expansion. son, chairman of the governor's energy •
<br /> That the public reception in the east council. The governor is expected to
<br /> wasn't as warm was in large part because make a decision on which option to push
<br /> many of the turbines would be visible for by the end of the year.
<br /> miles around atop the hills.The hills have Wind developers, meanwhile, have
<br /> remained mostly unfilled because the soil been given fresh impetus to act. Con-
<br /> lies over rough limestone and flint. When gress last month authorized renewal of a
<br /> Houston-based Zilkha Renewable Energy production tax credit that the industry
<br /> in 2001 proposed putting up a wind farm relies on to make wind farms economi-
<br /> within view of their ranch, for instance, cal. With President Bush's signature last
<br /> Jacque and Steve Sundgren organized week, the companies are preparing to •
<br /> two dozen neighbors to file petitions with start building as many wind farms as
<br /> local Butler County officials to block the they can before the credit expires again
<br /> project. The Sundgrens say they also at the end of next year.For FPL,that has
<br /> were concerned that the surrounding meant abandoning the Flint Hills, at
<br /> prairie would be carved up by roads and least temporarily, to pursue less contro-
<br /> transmission lines and that habitat versial locales. .
<br /> would be reduced for the native prairie
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