By GAYLE WEBER

gweber@dailynews.net

Much of the discussion at a wind energy forum Tuesday night at Fort Hays State University revolved around the same arguments both proponents and opponents of the alternative energy in Ellis County have maintained all along.

The one thing the forum's three panelists could agree on was that reducing energy consumption is needed.

"Very few people talk about that," said Bruce Graham, a wind energy technology instructor at Cloud County Community College. "But that's the No. 1 thing. You don't have to have any of these environmental impacts if you reduce the amount you use."

Graham was one of three panelists to speak at the American Democracy Project-sponsored forum at FHSU.

Graham spoke to a crowd of approximately 50 people about the construction of the Meridian Way Wind Farm south of Concordia and the benefits Cloud County has seen from the development in the last year.

Graham said it didn't matter whether the country pursued nuclear, coal, solar or any other type of alternative energy, people still have to reduce consumption.

"Just because it's cheap doesn't mean you have to turn on your lights," Graham said. "A lot of people say, 'I don't turn off my lights because my electric bill isn't that high.' That's not the proper method."

Energy reduction was about the only nod wind opponent J.P. Michaud gave to either Graham or wind proponent Harold Kraus during the two-hour forum.

Michaud, who owns land in the proposed Hays Wind LLC project southwest of Hays but opposes the project, presented findings from his research on wind energy.

Michaud said while the potential environmental effect of a wind farm might not be realized in every instance, they have to be considered. Those include the danger to bats and migratory birds and destruction of land to construct wind turbines.

"Apparently, we have to destroy large parts of environments to save it," Michaud said.

Michaud, who appeared instead of the scheduled John Schmeidler and thought he was going to debate the merit of wind farms, said the key to the future of energy will be diversification.

However, Michaud, who was told by the audience to stop his presentation after about 30 minutes, said wind energy could not be relied upon to replace other energy sources, calling it "intermittent and unreliable."

Much of the controversy surrounding Hays Wind LLC's proposed project has surrounded the siting of wind turbines.

Cloud County teaches a semester-long class concerning turbine siting.

"Out in California, when wind energy was new, they put the wind turbines in the worst possible spots they could," Graham said.

However, Graham said, technology, environmental studies and permitting have improved the siting for wind turbines to avoid putting them in migratory bird paths or in interference with weather radars or television reception.

Kraus, a lease holder in the Hays Wind project, also presented his research on the issue, saying the city of Hays will have plenty of room to grow even if wind turbines are installed in their proposed locations.

Based on the population density of the city and the available development space in the 3-mile radius surrounding the city, Kraus said there would be room for more than 129,000 people in the 3-mile zone for future growth.

The three panelists responded to questions from the audience regarding the merits of their research, taxes, energy storage methods and noise levels.

Graham, who takes Cloud County students to the Meridian Way Wind Farm for internships and hands-on training, described the school's success with the project.

"I'd say 98 percent of the people are in very much favor of the wind farm there -- how it was handled, how the roads were repaired, the bridges were replaced, the soil was put back as good as it can be," Graham said.

"They were very supportive of it. In fact, they're supportive of tripling the size of the wind farm that we have."