A Wisconsin wind farm gets the approval to move forward after the developer convinces regulators it can reduce noise levels. This article from reNews.com says the 44-turbine, 102.5MW Highland Wind Farm in St. Croix, being developed by Emerging Energies, got a 2-to-1 vote in its favor from the state’s Public Utilities Commission.
The Hubertus-based developer fine-tuned operating plans to comply with noise restrictions after the board initially rejected the project in February. Emerging Energies said it would curtail some turbines at night.
“Commissioner Montgomery set high standards for us to meet and gave us another chance to prove that we were able to comply with the state’s noise standard for wind turbines,” said Emerging Energies.
The commission also doubled the number of sound monitors that would measure compliance and increased sound monitoring to four times a year.
Siemens and Nordex turbines are being considered for the $250m project. When finished, Highland will connect to Xcel Energy’s 161kV transmission line.