May 13, 2011
Indiana

Wind energy meeting to be held in June

Elizabeth Lundblad, Courier-Times Staff Writer, www.thecouriertimes.com 13 May 2011

A meeting to further investigate wind energy was announced Wednesday at the County Commissioners meeting by theNew Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corp.

In April, the EDC, commissioners and other county officials visited White County to tour the 303 wind turbines there, said Penny York, EDC special projects manager. After the tour, everyone agreed that wind energy was something the county would be interested in moving toward.

At the commissioners meeting, York said that the EDC was planning a public meeting in late June to bring together interested community members, county officials and Nordex, a wind energy company.

Also attending the meeting will be representatives from Rush County.

“We decided that we knew the company named Nordex had communicated with both counties and to be on the same page we invited them,” York said. “It’s just hear the same things from the same people.”

After the EDC’s visit to White County, York said she was contacted by officials in Rush County who were also interested in exploring wind energy.

“That’s where the collaborative effort came into play,” she said.

In the past, some have wondered if Henry County has enough room for wind turbines, citing the airport as a possible obstacle. When asked if a collaboration between Henry and Rush counties was in the future, York did not rule it out.

“That’s a possibility. We’ve all communicated with Nordex for a couple years now,” she said.

H.J. Umbaugh & Associates, a company that serves as a financial advisor for Henry and Rush counties, will also be present at the June meeting.

The meeting, the date for which is still being finalized, is for anyone in Henry or Rush counties interested in the wind energy project, York said.

“It’s more exploratory at this stage of the game,” she said. “We don’t know what capacity there is. There have been different vendors talking to people in different parts of the county. We felt it needed some cohesiveness.”

York said that she has seen a significant amount of interest in wind energy.

“It doesn’t bring a real significant amount of jobs,” York added. “But it has the potential to bring revenue to the county.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/05/13/wind-energy-meeting-to-be-held-in-june/