Foes organizing against central Indiana wind farm plans

Many people living in a central Indiana county are organizing against construction of a wind farm proposed by a company that's putting up hundreds of the electricity-generating turbines in nearby counties.

A Chicago-based company is seeking permission from Delaware County officials to build about 30 turbines across 15,000 acres of agricultural areas northeast of Muncie.

About 75 people attended a county plan commission meeting this month to voice objections to the plan, and about 125 people met last week to organize their opposition, The Star Press reported Monday.

One of the organizers, Kathy Gresh, said many Delaware County residents still "don't know anything about this."

"We're still trying to get the word out to everybody," Gresh said.

The county plan commission has delayed until its June 6 meeting any action on rules for wind turbines such as those proposed by E.ON Climate and Renewables of Chicago.

The commission's director proposed rules that the turbines be at least 1,320 feet from homes, but Gresh wants that minimum distance set at two miles, or 10,560 feet.

Gresh said the opponents believed that too many people lived in Delaware County's rural area for it to be appropriate for the wind farm, citing concerns about noise, impact to property values and dangers from the turbine blades.

"No one is opposed to green energy. That's not our dispute," she said. "But there's a place for these, and it's not in the middle of our neighborhoods."

Lael Eason, an E.ON development manager, said many of the arguments made by the project opponents "are simply false."

The company is looking to build about 30 turbines standing perhaps 500 feet tall in Delaware County, according to county officials.

E.ON also is building the Wildcat Wind Farm in counties neighboring to the west.

Construction finished late last year on 125 turbines are in eastern Tipton County and northern Madison County, in the area about 40 miles north of Indianapolis. Nearly 200 more turbines are planned in neighboring Howard and Grant counties in later phases.