December 8, 2010
North Dakota

Adams County approves wind farm testing permit

By: Lisa Miller, The Dickinson Press, www.thedickinsonpress.com 8 December 2010

HETTINGER – Adams County residents may see a different view when they look out their windows in a few years.

County commissioners approved a conditional use permit for Global Winds Harvest, Inc. (a privately owned United States wind energy company based in New York) to construct a meteorological tower five miles north of Hettinger at a meeting Tuesday at the Adams County Courthouse in Hettinger.

County Commission Vice Chairman Gene Seamands said Global Winds Harvest contacted the county about the project earlier this year.

“The tower will monitor wind activity in the area for three years,” said County Commission Chairman Chuck Christman.

Christman said the results of the study will determine whether constructing wind towers in Adams County is a viable option.

“I lean both ways,” Seamands said. “I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I’d rather see oil wells than towers.”

Calls to Global Wind Harvest were not returned Tuesday.

According to its website winds should be at least 17 mph, existing transmission lines should be within at least 5 to 10 miles of the wind resource area, and about 60 to 100 acres of land are needed per turbine for a viable wind power project.

Other considerations Global Winds Harvest will use to make the decision include the need to minimize environmental constraints (avoiding sensitive ecological resources, airports, high-density residential areas), the availability of potential power buyers and transportation accessibility (the ability to safely and economically move turbines and cranes to the project area).

Other items of business discussed at Tuesday’s meeting include:

– The Commission approved the TWRx discount program for the county. Thrifty White wholly owns its subsidiary TWRx LLC, a Minnesota and North Dakota-based pharmacy benefit management company.

The program offers free discount cards to county residents. The cards can be used at participating pharmacies on human and pet medication, according to the TWRx website.

– Kathy Vliem was sworn in as a county commissioner. It is believed that she is the first woman to serve on the Commission.

– The Commission said time is up for farmers to get their bales out of the ditches. According to the North Dakota Century Code the bales were supposed to be removed by Oct. 15.

“They pose a safety risk, both to county workers doing snow removal and drivers who may end up in the ditch,” Theo Schalesky, Adams County highway superintendent, said.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/12/08/adams-county-approves-wind-farm-testing-permit/