August 4, 2016
Iowa

AMU discusses wind turbine removal

By Nicole Montgomery, Progress Intern | Algona Upper Des Moines | August 3, 2016 | www.algona.com

ALGONA – The Algona Municipal Utilities Board of Trustees discussed the plan to remove three zoned 750kW wind turbines in Kossuth County at its monthly board meeting on Wednesday, July 27.

Cedar Falls Utilities is working as a mediator and has begun accepting bid documents. As of right now, the board is unsure of the cost, but a public hearing will be held at Cedar Falls Utilities to take action or defer the request.

“As of right now, we have no idea what the cost may be. It could be nothing, but we don’t know right now,” General Manager John Bilsten said.

The board discussed the timeframe of the project, hoping to wait until the soybeans have been harvested, but also wanting to avoid the increase in wind in the fall.

“Ideally, we would have the wind turbines out by September when the wind begins to pick up,” Bilsten said. “However, we are unsure of when the turbines will be able to be removed. I’ll have more information at the next board meeting.”

Also discussed at the meeting was the Rural Economic Development Loan Program, a loan available to AMU through the USDA.

“This is a loan available through the USDA to our customers who may be looking to expand in their business,” Bilsten said. “The loan can be up to $1 million. Payments are made to us, and we in turn pay the USDA.”

While no requests for this loan have been made yet, Bilsten informed the board of the possibility of a loan application in the near future.

The board also:

• Received financial reports and authorized the reports to be placed on file.

• Received a general manager’s report.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/08/04/amu-discusses-wind-turbine-removal/