Center offers local leaders help in navigating big wind energy deals

Several wind energy projects are being proposed and planned across the region and most of them need approval at the county level before advancing to state and federal levels. Lucas Nelsen, a program policy associate at the Lyons-based Center for Rural Affairs, says many county leaders don’t have the expertise needed to come up with appropriate rules and policies.“Counties can find themselves way over their heads just from the amount of information they have to dig through,” Nelsen says. “What we wanted to develop was a guide that just lays out the basic features of a wind energy ordinance. It’s not exactly a blueprint you would adopt wholesale but it’s something that walks you through the pieces you’d expect to find in an ordinance.”Nelsen says many counties have a hard time finding a balance between development and private property rights.“You have to allow the public to come in and be a part of the process and try to find the middle ground, that’s the most important part,” Nelsen says. “Don’t just pass something to pass something. Really try to find a compromise that can ensure that people have the right to use their land but also people don’t feel like they’re being caught out by any development.”