The Southwest Power Pool just won the right to spread the costs of certain transmission projects across its 14-state footprint, despite the objections of American Electric Power and Excel Energy. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted 3-2 on Friday in support of the SPP’s proposal reported Utility Dive. The plan had been opposed by …
Category: Wind Energy
Iowa wind turbine caught fire early Monday morning
A burning wind turbine lit up the the night sky over eastern Iowa this week. Firefighters were called to the scene early Monday morning to near Williamsburg, a town about 35 miles southwest of Cedar Rapids, reported the Kansas City Star. An investigation is underway not only by firefighters but also MidAmerican Energy. Click …
Eastern Colorado residents worry about wind farms
Concern is growing in Eastern Colorado about the maintenance and cleanup of aging wind farms that have proliferated in the past few decades. Some counties are following what others are doing across the country—creating their own rules in the absence of state regulations according to a report by the Colorado Sun. Click here …
New Mexico makes way for more public land wind farms
The state of New Mexico announced the results of two large public land lease sales for construction of wind farms. Pattern Energy won both bids for a total of 15,000 acres offered by the New Mexico State Land Office. The Carlsbad Current-Argus reported one lease was for 2,318 acres in Lincoln County while the …
US offshore wind energy industry to boom in next few years
Imagine an energy workforce booming from a thousand jobs in 2022 to nearly 58,000 in about 8 years. It’s what the National Renewable Energy Laboratory based in Colorado is predicting for the U.S. offshore wind workforce. It estimates the offshore wind industry will need between 15,000 and 58,000 full-time jobs every year beginning in …
Supreme Court sides with wind farm in fight over production tax credits
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled this week against county assessors who argued in support of ad valorem tax assessments on wind farms. It’s a ruling that will affect nearly every county in the state where a wind farm is located and could result in the loss of millions of dollars for those counties as …
Oklahoma rancher fights ‘for’ a wind farm, not ‘against’
An Oklahoma farmer and rancher isn’t giving up his long fight against a state law that happens to prevent him from using his land as part of a wind farm. The Oklahoman reported this week on the fight by Mike Day of Cement who took his battle with the state to court. Click here …
NextEra’s next wind farm to be in central Kansas
NextEra Energy, one of the top wind farm operators in Oklahoma, has plans to build another wind farm in central Kansas. It wants to construct the wind farm west of Newton, a city along I-35 in Harvey County. County Commissioners recently approved regulations for the wind farm, even though some residents voiced concerns about …
Enel Green Power opens new office and training center in OKC
As the number two wind energy operator in Oklahoma, Enel Green Power recently held a grand opening of new offices in Oklahoma City. The company has a $3 billion wind portfolio in the state, operates 11 wind farms in Oklahoma with two more under construction and the Oklahoma City office located at 525 NW 11th Street, Suite …
3Q results to be releases by ALLETE Inc.
The parent company of Oklahoma wind farm operator ALLETE Clean Energy plans to release its third quarter financial results in early November. The financial results of ALLETE Inc., a firm headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota will be released before the stock markets open on Wednesday, Nov. 9 of this year. Following the release, ALLETE …