Category: Wind Energy

What wind supporters plan to lobby for and against in the 2020 legislative session

Oklahoma legislators only have to read this week’s Journal Record to learn what wind supporters plan to lobby them about in the coming legislative session. Wind farm property tax valuation and the proposed 1.5 mile setback from private airports. Here’s how the Journal Record reported it:   OKLAHOMA CITY – The state of investment in …

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SE Nebraska residents want tighter wind farm restrictions

Residents of a southeast Nebraska county are still urging county leaders to adopt more restrictive requirements for wind farms. As the Hastings Tribune recently reported, Gage County Planning and Zoning officials have received more pressure from residents who want at least a mile setback of turbines from homes.   Prairie Wind Watchers is the group …

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Northwest Missouri residents oppose proposed wind farm

County leaders north of St. Joseph, Missouri are being asked to ban wind farms in Buchanan County. The county zoning and planning committee spent two days last week listening to the arguments of residents who are fighting efforts of a Florida company to build the wind farm.   Several concerns with the ordinance were addressed, …

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Wind power license plates issued in Kansas

Kansas started issuing new personalized license plates this week showing off the state’s status as a home for wind power. The new design features wind turbines profiled against a sunrise.   “Kansas is a leader in alternative energy, and this plate helps feature the fact the state has a long history of adopting technology that …

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Financial report to be released by Oklahoma wind operator

Minnesota-based ALLETE Inc., the operator of a major wind farm being built near Ardmore, Oklahoma plans to release its quarterly financial results Feb. 13, 2020. The release will be made before the stock markets open on that Thursday. Following the release, ALLETE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alan R. Hodnik, President Bethany M. Owen, Senior …

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PSO gets judge’s support in new wind farm plan

A massive $2 billion wind farm plan proposed by Public Service Company of Oklahoma as an alternative to its failed Wind Catcher project has the support of an administrative law judge at the Corporation Commission. Jusfw Surin Murer heard testimony on Monday and afterward indicated he would urge the Corporation Commission to approve the plan …

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Western Nebraska to be site of two major wind farms

Far western Nebraska is expected to be the site of two major wind farms in the next few years. Orion Energy and Invenergy LLC are working to obtain leases, carrying out environmental assessments and conduct public surveys according to a report in the Scottsbluff Star-Herald.   Ben Turner, manager of renewable development for Invenergy LLC, …

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Missouri legislators try again to kill $2 billion wind project

The more than $2 billion wind project called the Grain Belt Express is once again facing opposition from legislators in Missouri. The project, designed to carry wind-powered electricity from Kansas to Ilinois and Indiana could could be unplugged, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. On Monday, a House panel heard testimony from Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankford, …

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Southwest Missouri getting two wind farms

Construction is underway on two wind farms in southwest Missouri. Some of the turbines are going up at a site about 20 miles north of Joplin, Missouri. They are part of a 600-megawatt wind project in Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas for Liberty Utilities-Empire District. Some of the customers of the District are in northeast …

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NextEra encounters delays in latest wind farm project

NextEra Energy Resources, the company that has wind farm operations in Oklahoma and encountered problems with plans for two more has to wait for a decision from South Dakota regulators regarding a wind farm project there. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission deferred making a decision on whether to temporarily waive an energy company’s requirement …

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