Published: January 13, 2009 09:24 am      

Wind farm foes plan meeting

A meeting to gauge public opposition to wind farms in Boone County is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Boone County Farm Bureau Community Building at the 4-H Fairgrounds, 1300 East County Road 100 South, Lebanon.

Rick and Janet Fyffe, rural Thorntown, are concerned a test tower near county roads 850 West and 250 North will show there is an economic basis to building a wind turbine farm in Boone County.

The Fyffes are concerned over the health and safety risks of wind farms.

EnXco, a renewable energy developer, installed the test tower this fall. A two-year study gauging wind speed, direction and consistency will determine if a wind farm is feasible, EnXco representative Laura Vaughn told The Lebanon Reporter.

A typical wind turbine tower is 265 feet high, with three 132-foot-long blades turning a turbine that generates about 1.5 megawatts of electricity.

Wind farms either on-line or planned in Benton County will eventually generate up to 982 megawatts of electricity. Indianapolis Power & Light Co. announced in October it would have EnXco build a 21-turbine wind farm near Fowler.