Editorial: Tap wind, but inform the public

Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2002 | 8:53 a.m.

Our neighbor to the west, California, has quietly become the world's leading producer of energy derived from wind, far surpassing even the Netherlands, where windmills are a national symbol. And beginning about six years ago, wind "farms" -- land featuring clusters of turbine-topped towers -- began popping up in more than a dozen other states. The main reasons behind this trend are huge advances in the technology behind wind-generated energy and the financial incentives being offered by the federal government for marketing energy produced from "green" (nonpolluting) sources. With wind an almost constant companion in Nevada, the arrival of proposals for wind farms here is neither surprising nor unwelcome.

A joint partnership known as MNS Wind Power has hopes of someday being approved to build a wind farm at the Nevada Test Site that would ultimately provide enough power for more than 200,000 homes. The Air Force has rejected that proposal for now. But the company has another proposal for a site at Sandy Valley, about 50 miles south of Las Vegas near the California border. This will not be the last proposal that will come forward in our area -- the Department of Energy says wind is the fastest-growing energy technology in the world.

Companies making proposals to generate this form of energy must understand, however, that most people are not yet familiar with wind farms and that more than filling out forms for regulatory agencies will be required. A lot of unnecessary antagonism came out at recent meeting of the Nevada Wildlife Commission, when commissioners and people attending charged that MNS has failed to report how the wind farm would affect animals. Companies should anticipate such concerns, conduct studies to address them without having to be told, and attend the meetings where such questions will be raised.

The size of the towers, their noise levels, their aesthetics -- all related issues are wide open for debate, and companies making proposals should be proactive in offering accurate information.