October 12, 2019
Indiana

White County clears way for new wind farm near Reynolds

By Michael Johnson | Herald Journal | www.newsbug.info

MONTICELLO – White County is getting another wind farm.

The farm, which will be known as Rosewater, is the seventh phase of Meadow Lake Wind Farm project and will be near Reynolds. The 102-megawatt farm will have 25 turbines and will be developed by EDP Renewables North America LLC, owners of the previous six projects in White and Benton counties.

As with the prior phases in White County, Meadow Lake and the county had to first agree on economic development, road use and decommissioning. The first contract provides for economic development payments to White County based on the megawatts generated from the project. That means the county will receive about $2.86 million over five years.

Rosewater will also have a 10-year tax abatement on a sliding scale, according to county attorney George Loy.

For any project to move forward, Loy said entities with oversized equipment must get permission from the county to use its roads. The White County Commissioners granted that use on condition that EDP Renewables reveal what roads they plan to use and repair those roads that will most likely be damaged by their use.

The third and final contract is decommissioning, which ensures EDP Renewables will dismantle the wind turbines at some point in the future should the company no longer need the use of Rosewater.

“The county is reasonably guaranteed of the dismantling of the wind turbines so they don’t walk away and leave the turbines sitting there,” Loy said. “We’ve had these agreements with the other phases of this project and they’ve developed over time.”

Rosewater will extend six miles west from Reynolds and five miles north along US 24. It will generate as much power as Meadow Lake V with half as many turbines, according to Matthew Thornton, project manager for EDP Renewables.

“At the end of 2017, we finished Meadow Lake V – a 102-megawatt project with 50 turbines,” he said. “(At Rosewater), we’re installing half the number of turbines for about the same capacity. That’s a testament to the efficiency, improvement and engineering that we’ve seen over the last couple of years. “

He said 20 of the turbines will have a rotor diameter of 110-meters (360.9 feet) and five with a 136-meter (446.2 feet) rotor diameter.

Thornton said private and public road construction would begin as soon as possible up until winter weather sets in, and pick back up in March 2020 with foundation work. The turbines, he said, could arrive between June and August next year, with project completion expected in December 2020.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/10/12/white-county-clears-way-for-new-wind-farm-near-reynolds/