RENEW Wisconsin 222 S. Hamilton Street, Madison, WI 53703 • (608)
255-4044 • www.renewwisconsin.org
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Michael Vickerman
RENEW Wisconsin
608.255.4044
[email protected]

Legislators, staff, and public invited to see and hear Kewaunee County
residents talk about living with turbines

A new video commissioned for Madison Gas and Electric (MGE
http://storybridge.tv/greenview) features comments and stories from
landowners who live near the utility’s Rosiere wind farm in Kewaunee
County. Placed in service in June of 1999, the Rosiere project is one
of the state’s oldest commercial wind farms.

Since going into operation, the 17-turbine, 11.22-megawatt facility
has produced over 215,000 megawatt-hours of electricity, enough power
to supply 3,000 homes annually.

“The video does a good job of recapturing the difficulty MGE
encountered in securing a permit for this project,” says Michael
Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide
membership organization that champions renewable energy.

“Now it seems that the divisions in Red River and Lincoln townships
that formed while the project was under consideration have largely
melted away.”

“The people interviewed in the video live comfortably in the proximity
of wind turbines,” Vickerman said. “They’re obviously proud of what
they did 10 years ago.”

Gene Dalebroux, Red River town clerk, says in the video, “We were on
the cutting edge of something new, and we’re fortunate to be picked
that way.”
In another interview, farmer Rock LeFevre recalls some of the early
controversy when he says, “Some people raised their voices. ‘We don’t
want to look at that.’”

But now, fellow farmer Allen Guilette says, “They’re there. We like
‘em.” His wife Debbie says, “It’s part of our environment. It’s part
of our background.”

The success of the Rosiere project demonstrates the enduring jobs and
economic development potential for commercial wind energy in
Wisconsin. RENEW looks forward to the next decade as more wind
projects are built in Wisconsin.