Wind power plant complainant doesn’t show up to PUC hearing

The wind power company made news when a group of landowners in Grant and Codington Counties appealed the PUC’s decision to grant the company a permit to develop a 132-turbine wind farm. A 2021 PUC permit appeal from local landowners made its way to the South Dakota Supreme Court in 2022, where the high court approved the PUC’s decision to grant the permit.

Christenson, one of the landowners behind the initial appeal to the PUC to deny the permit for the wind power company, recently filed another complaint about the noise level coming from the wind turbines.

The PUC has been working on the applications for Crowned Ridge Wind for the past four years, including sound studies, Commissioner Chris Nelson said. It seemed Christenson did not find those studies adequate, but without showing up to the evidentiary hearing there is no way to have any discussion about it.

The basis for the complaints in 2021 included the potential noise level produced by the wind farm and what would end up happening to the turbine blades after their decommission.

“It’s difficult getting all dressed up, reading hundreds of pages and refreshing our minds on so much information – then showing up to the wedding and the bride’s not there,” Commissioner Gary Hanson said.

“It’s surprising because Amber Christenson worked so hard on this and submitted so many papers and participated with such emotion, that I’m just amazed she’s not here,” Hanson said.

The commission unanimously motioned to dismiss the complaint.