October 22, 2010
Minnesota

Decision postponed on wind turbines coming to Goodhue County

By Leslie Rolander, KSTP-TV, kstp.com 21 October 2010

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission voted 4 to 1 to extend the time to make a decision on fifty 400 foot tall wind turbines to be placed in Goodhue County.

Instead of coming to a decision, the PUC decided to refer the restrictions of the ordinance back to an administrative law judge.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS recently reported the community is split over the issue. Some residents say it’s good to start building renewable energy sources, and Goodue is an ideal place to have wind turbines.

However, the majority of the community says the turbines will be a health risk, plus the noise and shadow flicker.

Representative Tim Kelly (R-Red Wing) says the problem comes down to a policy issue. When the state mandated a “25% by 2025” green energy goal in 2007, he says the guidelines were cookie cutter, and didn’t serve the best interest of each local community. He says, wind developers haven’t had this much opposition on a project, in the state.

The judge will come to a decision on this issue, and make recommendations to the PUC in about two to three months.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/10/22/decision-postponed-on-wind-turbines-coming-to-goodhue-county/