Payouts from Wisconsin wind farms approach $3 million

[Fledermaus]

Last year, owners of Wisconsin’s four largest wind energy projects paid out nearly $2.8 million in rent to landowners hosting turbines and payments in lieu of property taxes to local governments, according to figures compiled by RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy organization.

Fond du Lac County, which is home to 166 wind turbines, received a revenue payment of $625,000. Dodge County received $296,000 in payments for hosting 85 wind turbines.

“While we didn’t designate the income for anything in particular, we did use it to pay the bills of the county. Ultimately, it saves on property tax,” said Fond du Lac County Executive Allen Buechel.
Formula

Towns and counties do not collect property taxes from wind turbines but instead receive payments based on the generating capacity of each turbine, allocated under a formula adopted by the state Legislature in 2003.

Of the total revenue paid out to local governmental entities, counties retain two-thirds of the payments while townships hosting the turbines receive one-third. Payments to those local governments in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties will reach almost $1.6 million for 2010.

http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20110112/FON0101/110111152/Wind-farm-payouts-approach-3-million

[dragonlady]

1. And Wisconsin's governor wants to meddle with it

He has proposed regulations for siting wind turbines that would increase the distance from neighboring property lines and make it much, much harder to build new wind facilities. He wants to set back the state's progress, just as he did by giving away the high-speed rail money. Idiot.

http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2011/01/24/illinois-wind-industry-responds-to.html

[glinda]

2. His job is to make it all fail for the benefit of his donors.