January 24, 2018
Missouri

Grundy County Commission meets with NextEra Energy to discuss possible wind farm

KTTN News | January 24, 2018 | www.kttn.com

Three representatives from NextEra Energy met with the Grundy County Commission Tuesday afternoon to discuss a possible wind farm project in the area.

The representatives said meteorological towers will be placed in the county, which will give information on the output of wind capacity. They noted multiple studies still need to be done before a project would be started.

The NextEra representatives said the company prefers to locate in rural areas and try to keep off of urban areas. They told the commission the company builds 1,400 feet from any internal structure. The commissioners informed them that there is no zoning in Grundy County outside of Trenton.

The representatives mentioned the minimum size for a wind farm is 200 megawatts, which is the equivalent of about 97 wind turbines. They said the company sells the power produced to local companies in communities. It also hires as much local work as possible from the building of the project to watching the turbines to ensure they work properly once the site is built.

The representatives noted work involved with building the site usually is completed in six months. NextEra will also do road work on roads used by equipment involved. They said the company owns one of the two wind farms in Dekalb County. They reported that wind farm covers 17 acres and generates about $2,700,000 in tax revenue.

NextEra has also been in contact with five other counties in the area.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/01/24/grundy-county-commission-meets-with-nextera-energy-to-discuss-possible-wind-farm/