September 23, 2021
Nebraska

Jefferson County Commissioners approve met tower for NextEra Energy

By Michael Shively | News Channel Nebraska | Tuesday, September 21st 2021 | www.newschannelnebraska.com

FAIRBURY, NE – A national energy company is building a meteorological tower in northwest Jefferson County to see if the area would be suitable for a possible wind farm.

At their meeting Tuesday morning, the Jefferson County Commissioners unanimously approved a special use permit for NextEra Energy to build a met tower. The tower will be 190-feet tall, supported by guy-wires and can be removed after the end of its life cycle, which is typically three to four years. It will be built about eight miles northwest of Fairbury near the intersection of 565th Ave. and 718th Rd.

This tower is identical to a tower approved by the board in April. That tower is about two miles northwest of Harbine.

The special use permit approval comes one week after the commissioners instituted a six-month moratorium on special use permit applications for wind farms. The board wants the county’s planning and zoning committee to examine the existing wind farm regulations in the wake of changing technology in the industry.

NextEra already has a special use permit for a wind farm that was approved in 2013. A company representative says NextEra hopes to build a bigger project than was outlined eight years ago but leaders are looking at all options.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/09/23/jefferson-county-commissioners-approve-met-tower-for-nextera-energy/