By CLAY BARBOUR cbarbour@madison.com 608-252-6129 madison.com | | Posted: Thursday, January 27, 2011 1:01 pm
Can a powerful ‘wind’ turn the tables on Gov. Scott Walker?
The Illinois Wind Energy Association has started a campaign titled “Escape to Illinois,” a not-too-subtle jab at our governor and his bid to steal businesses from the Land of Lincoln.
Earlier this month, Illinois leaders approved a 67 percent increase in that state’s personal income tax rate and a 46 percent increase in its corporate tax rate.
Walker met that news with an ad campaign (sort of) targeting Illinois businesses. The governor openly, and frequently, invited business owners in Illinois to “Escape to Wisconsin.”
However, buried in a Wisconsin regulatory reform bill proposed by Walker during the current special session is a measure that wind energy insiders say could shut down 12 of the state’s wind farm projects, cost investors billions and essentially kill the industry here.
This has lead IWEA to give Walker a taste of his own medicine.
“Wind developers have been apprehensive about investing in Wisconsin since Governor Scott Walker proposed legislation that would effectively ban wind development from the Badger State,” reads a press release put out this week. “With these new job-destroying regulations on the table, IWEA is happy to highlight the much more business-friendly climate just to the south.”
Wisconsin requires turbines have a setback from the nearest property line of 1.1 times the height of the turbine, or roughly 450 feet. The turbines also are required to have a setback of 1,250 feet from a home.
Walker’s proposal would push the setback from the property line to 1,800 feet (almost six football fields), a distance industry experts say is unheard of in other states.
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Tags: badger-state, current-special, from-the-badger, governor, governor-scott, illinois-wind, industry, press-release, scott-walker, turn-the-tables, walker, wisconsin