It was only a matter of time before a large-scale wind developer decided Warren County was a good place to site a wind farm.

After all, we share a border with New York state, which has been investing heavily in wind energy for years. But, if there are incentives available in Pennsylvania, an area that is typically a less expensive place for development projects than New York, the time was coming when a wind farm would be proposed here. We share many of the same characteristics that have made New York attractive for wind developers without the burdensome New York regulations and wage requirements.

That means now is a good time for county officials to develop some regulations that will protect agriculturally significant areas and guidelines of where to place wind farms. As much as wind power is intermittent and relies on government subsidies to run economically, developers still insist on following the government money to build wind farms. Once states that have pushed wind power run out of space, wind developers will come looking for new land on which to build. That means places like the Pennsylvania countryside – and if there are no regulations governing the process our interests aren’t likely to be protected. And, if regulations aren’t in place before wind project proposals come in, it becomes much harder to fight projects that the community doesn’t support.

County officials are taking a prudent step by starting the planning process now.