Kansas Supreme Court upholds county ordinance that effectively blocks wind farms

With a state Supreme Court ruling, Kansas has become the first state to formally acknowledge that wind energy may conflict with the desire for unobstructed views of the countryside. The court ruled Friday that a Wabaunsee County zoning ordinance that prohibits commercial wind farms was valid, Scott Rothschild of the Lawrence Journal-News reports. Kansas is considered one of the top states for wind energy potential, but development in the scenic Flint Hills, site of the conflict, has long been controversial. The region in eastern Kansas has most of the remaining tallgrass prarie that once covered most of the Great Plains.

The ordinance in Wabaunsee County (Wikipedia map) says wind farms with towers more than 120 feet tall, short by modern wind-power standards, "would be incompatible with the rural, agricultural, and scenic character of the county." The Supreme Court agreed with a lower court that the commissioners had considered aesthetics and residents' desires in passing the law, but the court left open some issues for further discussion. On Jan. 27, the court is to consider whether the law constitutes taking property rights without proper compensation or violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. (Read more)