Wind Farm Repowering Complete Despite Lawsuits

By Gordon HopkinsA repowering of the Steele Flats Wind Farm has been completed despite two ongoing lawsuits.At a meeting on Tuesday, March 4, Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock said, “NextEra, I think, is pretty much all done with the project over there. They're pulling out.”NextEra Energy is the company that owns and operates Steele Flats, which consists of 44 wind turbines, 32 in Jefferson County and 12 in Gage County. What is Repowering?Repowering means retrofitting existing wind turbines with new or refurbished technology, such as turbines or blades or even making the tower taller, which can in turn increase the energy output.According to the U.S. Government's Wind Energy Technologies Office, “Although new wind power plant plans and installations dominate headlines, wind repowering—the combined activity of dismantling or refurbishing existing wind turbines and commissioning new ones—also plays an important role in the industry. By modernizing the existing wind fleet, repowering sets the stage for future wind industry investments and helps maximize wind energy use in the coming energy transition.”A number of counties in Nebraska, including both Jefferson and Gage, have enacted regulations making it more difficult for the construction of new wind farms. In 2023, Jefferson County Commissioners voted unanimously for a one-mile setback for wind turbines despite the argument by wind energy supporters that such a setback would make wind farms effectively unfeasible in the county. No new wind turbine permits have been approved since the new regulations went into effect.Repowering is a way for wind farms to increase generation capacity without increasing the number of wind turbines.The project involves the existing turbines only. No new wind towers were added. The result is intended to be an increase in generation capacity and, therefore, an increase in tax revenue to the host counties without increasing the number of wind turbines. LawsuitsLocal attorney Gregory Kratz contends that NextEra should be required to obtain new Special Use Permits before going forward with the project. However, it was NextEra's position that, because there were no new turbines and the modifications to the existing turbines followed zoning regulations in place from 2013, when the originally Special Use Permits were issued, that new Special Use Permits were not required.Steele Flats was constructed in 2013 and, as such, is not subject to the 2023 regulations.In October of 2024, Kratz filed Notice of Appeals on behalf of petitioners Kevin and Jeanne McIntyre in Gage County District Court and petitioner Wilma M. Saathoff in Jefferson County District Court. Later that same month, both Jefferson and Gage counties filed Motions to Dismiss.Both Jefferson and Gage Counties are represented by attorney Patrick R. Guinan of Lincoln.Jefferson County District Court Judge David J.A. Bargen heard arguments at a hearing on Thursday, January 9, 2025. Gage County District Court Judge Rick A. Schreiner heard arguments on Monday, January 27, 2025.Both cases were taken under advisement by the respective judges and, as of press time, both cases remain open and no decision has been made.FJN reached out to Kratz and asked, now that the repowering project is complete, what does he hope the court will do. As of press time, no response was received. RoadsWhile the repowering project is compete, there is still work to be done by NextEra. Prior to beginning the repowering project, NextEra agreed to repair whatever damage was done to the roads.Schoenrock said, “From what I can see over there, I think most of our roads are just going to require regraveling.”“They beat them up pretty good,” said Schoenrock. “I think our position is going to be to ask NextEra to regravel those roads for us.”Schoenrock added, “I would like to emphasize again, they've been very good to work with. Whenever we brought concerns to them, they've tried hard to address them. And I think it's been a successful project.”

Donald Elmer Barber

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