The Antelope County Board of Supervisors will conduct a public hearing on a conditional use permit which could ultimately lead to the beginning of construction of wind turbines in southern Antelope County.
The public hearing, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on January 8 at the courthouse in Neligh, will be held to review a conditional use permit application submitted by Invenergy Wind Development, LLC on behalf of Prairie Breeze Wind Energy, LLC.
Prairie Breeze is seeking authority to construct a ‘Wind Energy Conversion System’ as defined in Article 15 of the Antelope County Zoning Regulations comprised of wind generation towers and other comparable uses and structures, including a power line to transmit energy generated to Nebraska Public Power District’s 230 kV Kelly– Ft. Randall Line, and the adjacent property thereto, are encompassed within: sections 13-14,22-28,33-36 Township 23N-8W; sections 2-3,7-11,13-36 Township 23N-7W; sections 1-3,7-8,11-36, Township 23N-6W; sections 1-12, 31-32 Township 23N-5W; sections 25-36 Township 24N-5W; sections 25, 35-36 Township 24N-6W, Antelope County, Nebraska.
The application may be examined in the office of the Antelope County Clerk or the Antelope County Zoning Office during normal business hours at any time prior to the public hearing.
Any party may offer oral comments at the public hearing in person or through an agent or attorney and / or may file written comments with the Board provided such written comments are received by the Board prior to close of business Friday, January 4, 2013.
The hearing follows an announcement made last month by the Omaha Public Power District means there are going to be wind turbines constructed in southern Antelope as well as in Boone and Madison counties.
OPPD has reached an agreement to purchase 200 megawatts from Prairie Breeze Wind Energy. Altogether, 120 wind turbines are to be built and put into operation by January 1, 2014. The power generated from the wind turbines is believed to generate enough power for about 60,000 homes. That figure comes from officials with Invenergy who oversees Prairie Breeze Wind Energy. The total capital investment for the project is approximately $350 million.
If approved, the applicant, in this case Prairie Breeze Wind Energy LLC, based out of Chicago, would remit an application fee of $1,000 per tower with a maximum limit of $10,000 per proposed wind farm site.
