Wind Power News: Minnesota
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
New $300M wind farm planned in Steele, Dodge counties
OWATONNA – A new $300 million wind power project in Steele and Dodge counties will bring millions of dollars of tax revenue to the area and generate enough electricity to power every home in Steele County four times over. NextEra Energy Resources, a Florida company that bills itself as “the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun,” is planning to break ground in August 2018 on a 200 megawatt wind farm consisting of 83 individual turbines, of . . .
Letter: Officials went against the people
Nestled above the Iowa border is Freeborn County’s London Township. The residents go about their business, bother nobody, descended from immigrants who fled Europe’s burdensome taxes and government rule, coming to America to live the dream of liberty, and have opportunities according to abilities, not birthright. Settlers were hard-working, self-sufficient and elected church, school, township and county boards who represented their belief in frugality, low taxes, freedom and property rights. Life was good in peaceful London Township. Until now. Today’s . . .
Wind farms to light up region
LINCOLN COUNTY – Senior Project Developer Shanelle Montana with EDF Renewable Energy of Minneapolis has been making regular reports to the Lincoln County Board regarding the Red Pine Wind Energy Project that will soon be under construction. Red Pine Wind Project LLC is a subsidiary of EDF Renewable Energy. “We acquired this project in early development from Infinity Wind, LLC in 2015. It had been in early development before that,” Montana said. “Our project boundary is currently going through the permitting . . .
Wind farm concerns in Freeborn County
FREEBORN COUNTY, Minn.- A proposed wind farm in freeborn county has residents voicing their opinions. The Freeborn County Wind Energy Project would bring 100 wind turbines to southern Minnesota and north Iowa. It will be built on a 40,000 acre site just a little more than a mile east of Glenville. “Quite often in Freeborn County we hear that we don’t get economic development throughout the area and to me this is quite a bit of what this is,” said . . .
Letter: Investigate effects of wind turbines
Home sweet home. What makes a house a home? For most individuals, it isn’t a particular feature of the building, but rather the feelings and memories associated with that house that leads to the nostalgia and fondness which spurs us to call it home. I grew up in Shellrock Township (south of Glenville), in a house my parents built 20 years ago on the same acreage my dad grew up on. After graduating from Glenville-Emmons High School, I moved to . . .
County votes against study into wind project
The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners rejected a proposal Tuesday to conduct a study of the Freeborn Wind Energy Project planned in southeast Freeborn County. The proposal failed by a 2-2 vote. Dan Belshan and Mike Lee voted yes. Glen Mathiason and Chris Shoff voted no. Jim Nelson abstained from voting because he owns property where wind turbines are slated to be installed. The board’s vote came after approximately 20 people shared support and concerns of the planned project in . . .
Citizens weigh in on wind farm project
It was a contentious debate Tuesday morning during a meeting of the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners. “It’s not just dollars, people do have concerns. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water,” said Ryan Nolander, executive director of the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency. It’s called the Freeborn Wind Energy Project, and it’s drawing both support and opposition. “My goals are to create jobs and to create new tax base and this project and projects like . . .
Too close for comfort? More questions than answers about a wind power ordinance in Faribault County
Two weeks after the Faribault County Courthouse flooded with advocates for stricter oversight of wind energy projects in rural communities, Loria Rebuffoni, of the county’s Planning and Zoning department, returned with an answer. Sort of. Summoned Tuesday to a work session, an unofficial extension of talks from the standing-room-only meeting of April 4, she offered the county’s Board of Commissioners a state-level guideline to consider when weighing the possibility of granting the so-called Coalition for Rural Property Rights its wish. . . .
Residents voice their concerns about wind turbines
Some Freeborn County residents Tuesday discussed their health concerns regarding the proximity of wind turbines to houses in Freeborn County. Residents spoke of what they deemed as adverse health effects from wind turbines during a Freeborn County Board of Commissioners meeting. The discussion came as construction looms on the Freeborn Wind Energy Project in southeast Freeborn County. No action was taken from the discussion. London Township Board member and Freeborn County Public Health employee Michelle Severtson discussed her health concerns . . .
Fighting the winds of change: Pilot Grove Township residents want stricter wind ordinance
When the Coalition for Rural Property Rights stormed the Faribault County Courthouse on Tuesday, it was not an officially licensed organization. But in claiming support from nearly 90 percent of Pilot Grove Township residents, overflowing the county commissioners room with agricultural advocates and literally standing in unison to plead for greater setbacks and a more restrictive ordinance pertaining to wind turbines in the county, it made its stance as official as could be. The Coalition brands itself as “a group . . .
