Debate swirls as wind power grows rapidly

"We feel rather protective of that area and feel it is a real national treasure," said Alan Pollom, Kansas state director of The Nature Conservancy. "If we're really going to capture the benefit of green power, it seems ill considered to pursue it in such a manner that you create offsetting detrimental ecological impacts."

In September, a report by the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, found that the federal government offers minimal oversight in approving wind power plants. The report urged federal officials to take a more active role in weighing the impact of wind power farms on bird and bat deaths, saying local and state regulators sometimes lack the necessary expertise.

Wind projects have sparked complaints around the country that the windmills cause noise, obstruct scenic views and kill wildlife, including thousands of federally protected birds in California.

In Maryland, state officials have sought to limit 420-foot windmills atop the state's highest mountain ridge because of concerns about the impact to rare species.

A proposal to build offshore wind turbine towers along the New Jersey shore led to a 15-month moratorium on such projects while a special panel studies the issue.

A wind farm planned in a small town in Vermont has sparked criticism that the nearly 400-foot towers would ruin the rural landscape and hurt tourism.

Proponents say bird kills have been minimal at most wind farms, though Gray acknowledged some bird deaths. They say the visual impact is far less severe than other forms of energy such as oil drilling.

Wind power helps lower skyrocketing home heating and electric bills by reducing the demand for natural gas and brings new jobs, rural economic development, and tax revenue to cash-strapped states, proponents say.

In McCamey, Texas, Mayor Sherry Phillips said the population has dwindled over the decades from about 10,000 to 1,800 as oil dried up. But these days the area is remaking itself as the wind farm capital of Texas, collecting millions of dollars in taxes and creating 40 to 50 jobs from 860 wind turbines, she said.

"It's extremely important economically for us," Phillips said. "To me they're a pleasing sight."

The wind power added this year will offset the emission of approximately 7 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to keeping nearly 500,000 SUVs off the road, the association said.

"If we could just find a way to make them invisible," Gray said, "we'd have something everybody could get behind."

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