Counties drape farmland with turbines

FRANKFORT, Ind. (WISH) - The breezes that gust through the Clinton County town of Frankfort may soon blow in change for the town and the county, in the form of new wind farms.

Wind farms are fast becoming one of the leading sources of renewable energy and AES, the parent company for Indianapolis Power and Light, is one of three companies looking to install wind farms in the county.

"A big part of our initial effort, like all wind developers, is to start testing the wind. And over time, you get a good picture of whether it's a resource that's robust enough to support a wind farm," explained Paul Burdick of AES.

The wind farm would not only provide renewable energy, but it could provide an economic boon for Clinton County. The main one, tax revenue, may take a few years to come to fruition, but there are more immediate benefits.

"You see the economics coming in from the construction of the wind turbines, from the people working. Lots of times, these groups travel all across the United States. So, you see families moving into the community for about 18 to 24 months while family members are building these turbines and constructing the turbines," said Gina Sheets of Clinton Co. Economic Development.

The temporary residents mean more customers for local businesses.

More and more counties in Indiana are seeing farm fields get filled up with the massive wind turbines -- most of them farther north from Clinton County. Now the question is: will there be enough wind in Clinton County to support the wind turbines?

Curt Emanuel of the Purdue Extension said Clinton County is "in the pocket of probably the second best wind resources, other than the White-Benton County area within the state of Indiana."

Though it may be several years before any wind turbine will generate power in Clinton County, residents hope the wind will provide green movement in more ways than one.