MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - Those who want to put up high tech windmills in Wisconsin might have to pay the folks who live near them. That’s one recommendation from an advisory council that’s been studying the placement of wind turbines since March.

The council was created after the Legislature took away the power of local governments to act on new wind farms many of which were rejected due to pressure from neighbors.

State officials had argued that so many projects were being denied, that the developers and makers of high tech windmills were looking at moving to other states. The council’s report confirmed that. And it concluded that wind turbines do not reduce local property values.

But panel members say the neighbors should get compensated anyway, due to the noise and the moving shadows created by the large power generating devices. The state Public Service Commission is expected to consider the panel’s ideas later this month. Lawmakers would then review them.

The panel’s chairman, Dan Ebert, said the report was a compromise set by utility officials, developers, town leaders, Realtors, and homeowners who served on the council. Those who opposed the measures said the ideas were favored toward those with a stake in the projects, and were not restrictive enough.