News Release


For Immediate Release December 15, 2000
For More Information Contact: Keith Reopelle (608) 251-7020


Environmental Group Clears the Air on Health Benefits of Wind Farm

A leading state environmental group is defending a large utility in its bid to site a wind farm in the Town of Addison. At a press conference before a Town of Addison hearing on the utility's application for a conditional use permit, Wisconsin's Environmental Decade is drawing attention to the harmful pollution emissions avoided by wind power.

"Wind power is an important alternative to coal burning power plants," said Keith Reopelle, Program Director for Wisconsin's Environmental Decade. "By displacing coal power, wind power directly reduces acid rain, smog, global warming, mercury contamination of fish and deaths caused by particle pollution."

WED described several impacts of coal combustion which will be partially avoided by the wind farm:

1. Approximately 450 premature deaths from particle pollution annually in Wisconsin
2. Approximately 1200 children suffer developmentally due to mercury contaminated fish annually in Wisconsin
3. Approximately 4,000 emergency room visits and 1,400 hospitalizations due to smog (all sources) each year in Wisconsin.

"It's children, the elderly, asthmatics and others with respiratory ailments that would benefit the most from this wind farm because they suffer the most from coal plant emissions," said Reopelle.

"I have to assume the opponents of this wind farm don?t realize they are putting their aesthetic interests ahead of the death and suffering caused by coal burning power plants," said Reopelle. "If they understand the tradeoffs here I assume they'll have a different opinion about wind farms."