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 do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Ordinance amendments and meteorological and communication towers
The Fillmore County Planning Commission held four public hearings at its July 23 meeting. Timberwolf Wind, LLC has applied for a conditional use permit to construct a meteorological tower on property owned by John and Jacqueline Ryan, section 30, Harmony Township. This application is for a tower exactly like the one recently approved to be located in Bristol Township. The temporary 196-foot meteorological tower will be used to validate/confirm wind resources for a potential wind farm. It is expected to . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine versus street light
The tip of a wind turbine blade being transported through Marshall knocked over a streetlight in front of the Varsity Pub on Monday afternoon. The damage happened as a trio of semi trucks hauling turbine blades tried to make a right turn from East College Drive onto Main Street. The trailers carrying the turbine blades were so long that each truck had to drive past the College Drive/Main Street intersection and corner back onto Main Street to make the turn. . . . Complete story »
County board gives go-ahead for new wind turbine project
The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a conditional use permit for REG Juhl Glenville Wind LLC for a 2.5-megawatt wind turbine northwest of the REG biodiesel production facility near Glenville. The $4.75 million project came before the county planning commission Aug. 3 with unanimous recommendation for approval, said Trevor Bordelon with the county’s Environmental Services Department. The project also received letters of support from the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce, the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency, . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine proposed near REG plant north of Glenville
Renewable Energy Group Inc. and Minnesota-based Juhl Energy are proposing to construct a single wind turbine northwest of the company’s biodiesel production facility near Glenville. The turbine is planned to be 453 feet tall with a rotor diameter of 381 feet. The companies are seeking a conditional use permit from the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners for the project, along with a variance to allow the turbine to be built closer to the cropland property boundary but as far away . . . Complete story »
We should not rely on wind energy: Letter
Wind energy is not an agricultural commodity, as hogs, cattle, and grain are. It is not a product that supports rural economic development. It does not revitalize communities. It damages them. Around the world, industrial wind turbines have driven people away from homes due to their noise, flicker, red all-night lights, and just plain being very ugly. In 2016, three wind turbine towers in Fairbank, Iowa, were taken down by court order. One lady in Fairbank said, “I’m thrilled. The . . . Complete story »
Walz fills vacancy on state Public Utilities Commission
Sullivan lobbied for several regional environmental groups before joining the Commerce Department, including the Minnesota Center for Energy and Environment, and Wind on the Wires, a wind power advocacy group active in Minnesota and its neighboring states. Complete story »
Commentary: a rural community considers the complexities of wind energy
Residents of Murray County, Minnesota, value the small-town feel, knowing people wherever they go, peace and quiet, and a strong sense of community. Murray, with an estimated population of 8,300, is a primarily agricultural county in southwest Minnesota. As you drive through the prairie, you can see farm fields stretching to the horizon. The landscape has changed over the past 20 years, though. Today, Murray County has 255 wind turbines that dot the horizon. Sentiments about expanding wind energy production . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine planned near Altura
A new, 430-foot-tall wind turbine could soon be erected at the same site north of Altura where two failed wind turbines were demolished in 2018. Wind developer Paul Roeder, of Waukon, Iowa, and Wes Slaymaker of WES Engineering, based in Madison, Wis., plan to build a new turbine on Leroy and Suelynn Kronebusch’s farm at 15535 County Road 31, just outside Altura. At 430 feet in height including the rotors, the proposed new tower would be taller than two, 335-foot-tall . . . Complete story »
Peterson to seek different permit, conditions from zoning board
A Karlstad man plans to apply for a variance on an existing conditional use permit, which would allow him to get a wind turbine blade salvage operation up and running. Troy Peterson visited with the Kittson County Commission on Tuesday, Dec. 31 during its final meeting of the year. He was going to start breaking down turbine blades on property in Deerwood Township where he has a conditional use permit for a salvage operation. However, having not met the conditions . . . Complete story »
Dodge county wind farm project put on hold
According to the Minnesota Commerce Department, the Dodge County Wind, LLC (DCW) withdrew a proposal for a wind farm in Dodge and Steele Counties. The DCW, a subsidiary of NexEra Energy Resources, withdrew the proposal for a 210 plus mile long 345-kilovolt high-voltage transmission line through Dodge and Olmsted counties to connect to the wind farm. “The project withdrew from its original point of interconnection due to unusually high transmission upgrade fees that were being imposed by the regional grid . . . Complete story »
