Wind Power News: Nebraska
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.
Zoning regulation reviewed as wind tower permits double pages in plan
What began as a six-month moratorium for new wind tower conditional use permits has turned into a full review of Antelope County Zoning Regulations and nearly double the number of pages in the plan. Original county zoning regulations were written in 2012. In June 2016, the Antelope County Commissioners voted to place a hold on wind energy CUPs following approval of the Upstream wind farm and 20 associated conditions. Many turbines in the original 168 Upstream project will be located . . .
New wind tower regulations cause a stir at hearing
Monday’s nearly 3½ hour public hearing on zoning regulations nearly wrapped up without much comment on the wind turbines. Almost. Just as Antelope County planning members began discussing closing the meeting, Invenergy’s Nate Drucker asked for clarification on regulations. More public comments followed. Then the board reversed a previous decision on 1,000-feet setbacks for tower participants, which led to outrage from the few left in attendance. After another half hour on wind, the hearing finally closed and the board voted . . .
Government of the people?
Nebraska Public Power District has proposed construction of a 345-kilovolt transmission line (R-Project) extending from Sutherland in southwest Nebraska to eastern Holt County in north-central Nebraska. This 225-mile high-voltage transmission line will traverse the heart of the Nebraska Sandhills. The Nebraska Sandhills covers 19,600 square miles of north-central Nebraska and contains 1.3 million acres of wetlands. It is the largest and most intricate wetland ecosystem in the United States. It is also the largest stabilized sand dune region in the . . .
Are four wind-turbine failures in five weeks too many for NextEra Energy?
The business of wind generation is less than breezy these days for clean-energy producer NextEra Energy Resources. In Saginaw County, Mich., in late June, a blade on a 160-ft turbine snapped and was left dangling from its rotor (ENR 7/10 p. 4). The turbine is one of 75 at the 120-megawatt Tuscola Bay Wind Energy Center. Earlier in June at the Steele Flats wind farm in Nebraska, one of 44 turbines collapsed. On June 5, a 2.5-megawatt turbine at the . . .
Lawrence-area residents gather info about possible wind power project
LAWRENCE – A wind power project with up to 130 turbines generating enough electricity to power 110,000 U.S. homes could be in store for northwest Nuckolls County. Representatives from Charlottesville, Virginia-based Apex Clean Energy visited with landowners from the 90,000-acre footprint identified for the Prairie spirit Wind project during an open house informational meeting Tuesday evening at the Lawrence American Legion Hall. Project Developer Dylan Ikkala said Apex is currently in the leasing land and data collection process. “We’re here to . . .
Causes of turbine failures remain a mystery
NextEra Energy, owner of the Steele Flats wind farm in southern Nebraska, has suffered at least four wind turbine calamities in recent weeks, including broken blades, a fire and a collapse. Steven Stengel, a spokesman for the Juno Beach, Florida-based energy company, said the incidents are under investigation in cooperation with the turbine manufacturers, but it could be weeks or months before they figure out causes. No injuries were reported because of the failures. “We have roughly 10,000 wind turbines . . .
Feds weigh Sandhills power line’s impact on endangered beetle
A little black and orange beetle may be the biggest obstacle to a 225-mile-long proposed power line through Nebraska’s Sandhills. But a proposal to protect the beetle while allowing the line to be built has stirred up a hornet’s nest of opposition. Early morning, in a ditch outside a grassy field on the edge of the Sandhills, Bob Harms, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, takes a loosely-propped lid off a plastic bucket. “What do we have?” . . .
Turbine’s toppling could be mystery for months
It might be months before investigators know why a wind turbine toppled last week in a Jefferson County cornfield. Engineers from Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources – which owns the 44-turbine Steele Flats wind farm in Gage and Jefferson counties – will study what remains of the crumpled turbine, said spokesman Bryan Garner. They’ll work with representatives from General Electric, the turbine’s builder, but he said it could take weeks or months to determine what happened. Residents near Diller awoke June 13 to . . .
Re: Stanton County forum on wind turbines
My husband and I are leading the opposition in Nebraska for Stanton County. The Stanton County Forum was held June 13. Norfolk Daily News and News Channel Nebraska covered it. Norfolk Daily news in my opinion actually gave a pretty good summary, but also my opinion News Channel Nebraska censored a lot of the main points which I will touch on below. Before the meeting, the County had a comment/question box that you could throw in one notecard to possibly . . .
Wind turbine collapses in southeastern Nebraska, cause still under investigation
The cause of a collapse that reduced a 262-foot wind turbine to a twisted heap of white metal in southeastern Nebraska is still under investigation, but the farmer on whose land the turbine once stood will continue to be paid as if it were still generating electricity. “We will pay for any crop damage due to the turbine going down and lease payments will not be impacted,” said Bryan Garner, a spokesman for NextEra Energy, which owns the turbine that . . .
