April 5, 2012
Missouri

Economic hopes blow away as wind farm falls through

John Garlock, www.heartlandconnection.com 5 April 2012

ADAIR, SULLIVAN & PUTNAM COUNTIES – A multi-million dollar renewable energy project proposed for northeast Missouri is gone with the wind.

TradeWind Energy out of Lenexa, Kansas confirms it is terminating its Shuteye Creek Wind Project that would have put up numerous wind turbines in parts of Adair, Putnam and Sullivan counties.

TradeWind CEO Rob Freeman explained the reason behind the decision in a lengthy statement. Part of that statement stated, “Unfortunately it has become increasingly evident that the wind energy market in Missouri will simply not develop in the foreseeable future given the lack of interest in wind energy in the state.”

The company recently mailed project termination notifications to all landowners associated with the project.

State Representative Zachary Wyatt of Novinger told KTVO he was not glad to hear the news that TradeWind was pulling out.

“One of the things I like to talk about when I go around the state and talk about renewable energy is that this is one of the last hopes for rural economic development, and if we shut the door on this, what else do we have in small towns throughout the northern part of missouri?”

Wyatt said he’s disappointed in TradeWind’s decision because of the loss of tax revenue that the Shuteye Creek Wind Project would have generated in Adair, Sullivan and Putnam counties.

The wind farm would have provided millions of dollars in revenue to school districts in those counties.

Below is the full e-mail KTVO received from Rob Freeman:

To confirm your inquiry, TradeWind Energy has provided project termination notifications to all landowners associated with the Shuteye Creek Wind Project.

In 2005, TradeWind began developing the Shuteye Creek Wind Project located in parts of Sullivan, Adair, and Putnam counties with the expectation of an emerging Missouri wind energy market. At that time we were very optimistic about the future for wind power in Missouri based on the fact that the northern part of the state in particular has a robust wind resource that is comparable to surrounding states that are actively and successfully developing wind energy.

TradeWind has invested millions of dollars to lease and develop the Shuteye project area, including funding transmission interconnection studies, collecting wind data, conducting environmental studies, and developing engineering plans. Unfortunately it has become increasingly evident that the wind energy market in Missouri will simply not develop in the foreseeable future given the lack of interest in wind energy in the state. Base on this TradeWind has made the difficult decision to significantly reduce its presence in the state of Missouri and to more heavily focus its resources in other states where there is a clear commitment to development of this great energy resource.

The communities associated with the Shuteye project have been extremely helpful and supportive along the way over the last 7 years, and for that we are very grateful. Really it is for them that we are most disappointed as this project would have represented a rare opportunity for significant economic development in the area of clean energy technology for these communities.

Since 2008, Tradewind Energy has constructed over 800 megawatts of wind energy in Midwestern states….enough to power 250,000 homes. These projects have represented approximately $1.3 billion in capital investment. To these states these projects have brought economic development, jobs, and a component of energy technology diversification and energy security, conservation of natural resources, and protection against price volatility associated with burning fossil fuels to generate electricity.

It is our sincere hope that eventually we will see the state of Missouri enjoy the same benefits that surrounding states are seeing with development of wind energy.

Sincerely,

Rob Freeman, CEO

TradeWind Energy, LLC

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/05/economic-hopes-blow-away-as-wind-farm-falls-through/