Gage County Reviews Wind Farm Repowering Proposal

By Gordon HopkinsAccording to Gage County Planning & Zoning Administrator Lisa Wiegand, no new permit is required for a “repowering.” NextEra Energy, the company that owns and operates the Steele Flats Wind Farm in Jefferson and Gage counties, is looking to upgrade existing wind turbines, a project called “repowering.” The result will be an increase in generation capacity and, therefore, an increase in tax revenue to the host counties without increasing the number of wind turbines.Steele Flats consists of 44 wind turbines, 32 in Jefferson County and 12 in Gage County.Wiegand reviewed the description of the upgrade at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors Committee on Monday, July 22, 2024. Repowering means retrofitting existing wind turbines with new or refurbished technology, such as turbines or blades or even making the tower taller. It will not increase the number of turbines.David Levy, an attorney for Baird Holm LLP, which represents NextEra, said a new permit is not required because the upgraded turbines will still conform with the permit that was issued in 2013 and will still comply with all regulations that were in place at that time. Since that time, stricter zoning regulations have been established in both Gage and Jefferson Counties. In a memorandum, Levy wrote, “Gage County Zoning Regulations and Jefferson County Zoning Regulations expressly ‘grandfather’ the project such that it is only subject to the regulations, e.g., setbacks, in effect at the time of its approval. Turbines will remain in compliance with those regulations.”NextEra issued a statement about the repowering project on March 6, 2024, “Steele Flats Wind Energy Center was our first project in Nebraska and has been a good example of what a successful wind project looks like. Pending all approvals and notifications, we expect the upgrades to begin this summer.”

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