Windmill bill headed for final vote in state House

A bill that would regulate wind farms in Alabama was approved Wednesday by a House committee and is now headed for a full vote in the state house.  The Wind Energy Conversion Act, proposed by Sen. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, was passed unanimously by the House Commerce Committee.  Williams said the bill, which was approved Feb. 28 by the Senate, came out of committee with amendments that will allow for public hearings at the Public Service Commission if a new wind project is proposed in Alabama. It also will clarify some technical language in the bill, including better defining what constitutes an abandoned wind farm.  All committee members also signed 6-year-old Lillian Coker’s petition to stop Pioneer Green’s proposed wind projects on Lookout Mountain in Etowah and Cherokee counties. She had gathered more than 1,000 signatures for her petition.Patrick Buckley, development manager for Pioneer Green, said the company remains unsatisfied with the bill in its current form. He said several amendments he hoped to offer were blocked.