Meeting last week, the Antelope County Board of Supervisors cleared the way for construction of more than 100 wind turbines south of Elgin.
On a unanimous vote, the supervisors approved a conditional use permit for Invenergy on behalf of Prairie Breeze Wind Energy, LLC, which will allow them to begin construction of the wind farm later this year. The permit contains 10 conditions and requires the residential setback to be 1,000 feet.
During a public hearing, James Williams of Invenergy, presented a proposed map of where the wind turbines will be located. Each wind turbine will require appoximately one-third of an acre of land from the land owner. The vast majority of wind turbines, he shared, will be constructed in Lincoln, Logan and Cedar townships. A substation, necessary for the wind farm, will likely be constructed approximately three miles south and 1-2 miles east of Highway 14, in essence, in the middle of the project.
Among the other information, Williams presented during the public hearing was:
• Transmission line — The final route for a transmission line has yet to be determined. However, he made it clear it will connect to a line located in Madison County. That’s necessary for Prairie Breeze to be able to sell electricity (200 megawatts) to Omaha Public Power District, a sale which was announced last month.
• Construction — Work on the wind farm will begin later this year and, Williams indicated, should be completed by the end of 2014. Most of the necessary agreements with landowners are, in his words, “in place.”
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