Construction of a new wind farm in Antelope County may begin sooner than expected, according to officials at Invenergy.
On Monday afternoon, Invenergy Wind Development LLC spokesperson Alissa Krinsky indicated work on the wind farm should begin soon.
“As development activity continues on the Prairie Breeze II Wind Energy Center, current project activity includes final geotechnical and engineering design work,” she said. “Construction is expected to begin late next month (April), with commercial operation expected by the end of this year.”
Previously, construction of the new wind farm to be located primarily north and east of Elgin, would begin in May.
Prairie Breeze II will consist of approximately 41 wind turbines which will generate 73 MW of power. During the construction phase, there will be an estimated 90 jobs created. Also, Prairie Breeze II is expected to add seven permanent full-time jobs at the operations/maintenance building in Elgin.
Power generated by the wind farm will be purchased by Lincoln Electric System (LES) as part of a long-term contract signed last year.
There was also news last week regarding a potential third wind farm to be located in Antelope County. As reported previously, Invenergy has been meeting with landowners in the Neligh area about a future wind farm. Back in December, Invenergy Senior Manager/Business Development James Williams said the corporation was in the early-development stage for the Neligh Wind Energy Project which would be sited north and east of Neligh. According to public documents, the Neligh project would involve properties in Antelope and Pierce counties.
The Elgin Review has learned that the Antelope County Planning Commission will meet on Monday evening, March 16, to conduct a public hearing on two conditional use permits applied for by Invenergy Wind Development for the purpose of constructing two meteorological towers in the county. One tower would be located in Elm Township on land owned by Roger and Janet Spulak (SE1/4 less SE1/4SE1/4 33-25-5). The other tower would be placed in the Blaine Township on land owned by the State of Nebraska Board of Educational Lands and Funds (SE1/4 16-26-7)
Each tower will stand 197 feet tall and serve the function of measuring wind speeds. The hearing will be begin at 8 p.m.
