Without them, you’d pay higher taxes.

According to Mower County officials, easing the tax burden is the main way wind turbines benefit people throughout the county.

“It’s just another revenue source for the farmers out here and also for the governmental agencies,” said County Board Chairman Ray Tucker.

While Mower County currently has 253 wind towers, that number could surge past 400 in the coming years. Mower County’s sixth wind farm is slowly clearing its final hurdles. If RES Americas’ 300 MW Pleasant Vally Wind Farm receives final approval, another 130 to 200 towers will be erected. The state recently permitted the towers, and the project is scheduled to come back to the county level for approval of substations and transmission lines.

Wind farms don’t pay traditional property taxes with the county. Instead, they pay a Wind Energy Production Tax, which is based on the amount of energy produced each year. The change to the production tax has been highly beneficial to counties, Mower County Coordinator Craig Oscarson said.

“It caused a big revenue growth with counties that have a lot of wind towers like we do,” Oscarson said. Counties receive 80 percent of the funding with townships receiving 20 percent. School districts no longer receive funding.

Oscarson said the Wind Energy Production Tax shifts the public’s property tax burden. Without the production tax, property taxes in the county would be 6.6 percent higher. Oscarson said that’s about $1 million the county doesn’t have to levy to get from the public.

The money the county receives through the Wind Energy Production Tax has grown drastically in Mower County since 2005 when the county received $7,264. The county received about $689,000 in 2009 and about $1.1 million in 2010. In 2011, the county is budgeting about 1.5 million from the Wind Energy Production Tax.

“We’re hoping — if wind towers continue to be a viable source of energy and use — that we’re going to be well in excess of $2 million someday,” Oscarson said. “You can almost call it a subsidy against property taxes.”

Without the Wind Energy Production Tax, Tucker said there would be few benefits for the communities to promote wind energy. That was a key reason many power companies supported the tax, he added.

According to Tucker, the 300 MWs from the Pleasant Valley Wind Farm would increase county’s production tax dollars by 35 percent.

“It’ll be a pretty significant amount of additional revenue,” he said.

Not free money

While the county gets a significant chunk of money each year from the production tax, Oscarson said that is not money that can be used however the county likes.

“That is not new free money,” Oscarson said. “It comes with some restrictions.”

At past meetings, peoeple have asked commissioners why money from wind farms isn’t used to pay for the new Mower County Jail and Justice Center or other projects.

Essentially, the money enters the general budget along with property taxes and other revenue. As part of the budget, it is used for a number of projects and expenses — including the jail.

According to Oscarson, the state views money from wind farms as a form of Local Government Aid, so the state reduces the county’s levy authority each year by the increase in money from wind farms. The more money a county receives in Wind Production Taxes, the more restrictions a county has on their levy limit.

“It reduces the county’s ability to tax,” Oscarson said. “It’s doesn’t necessarily mean this is new free money. But what it does mean is absent this wind farm money, then county property taxes would be higher.”

Oscarson said many townships have reduced their levies , and have used the funding to in their road repair budgets.

Oscarson noted that wind farms still come with baggage — how much is a matter of personal opinion. Oscarson said some people argue the towers are ugly and contaminate the rural landscape. Others debate whether turbines affect the health of neighboring residents in any way.

Despite questions on the public side, Tucker and Oscarson said they benefit the county.

Reaching it’s peak?

While the benefit to county taxes will continue to grow in coming years, the county may not be far from peaking in wind energy.

With final approval of the Pleasant Valley Wind Farm, Oscarson said the county would be close to using at least two-thirds of the county’s total capacity for wind farms.

One key factor has attracted wind companies to Mower County. Even thought it’s not that noticeable, an elevated ridge runs through the center of the county and provides a prime spot for wind energy. The ridge runs from Iowa and then near LeRoy up to Dexter and Elkton.

“They’re pretty close to maximizing that corridor,” Oscarson said.

While it would use up that cooridor, final approval of the Pleasant Valley Wind Farm would secure the county’s place among Minnesota’s leaders in wind production, Tucker said.

“I’m sure that we’re at the top of the list,” Tucker said.

While Oscarson said the industry will peak temporarily, he said the future is in the hands of the federal government. If the federal government continues to push for more green energy rather than fossil fuels, the wind industry and ethanol industries would suffer.

Area farmers, he said, have benefited from both.

“They’ve been good to the people we represent,” Oscarson said.

Along with employing about 35 people, Tucker said farmers receive $5,000 to $10,000 a year to have a wind farm on their property.

“It’s been a good boost to the property owners that have them on their property,” Oscarson said.