Tag Archives: Nebraska wind farms

City Hall: Lancaster County seeks to relax rules for wind turbines

By Riley Johnson, Lincoln Journal Star

Lancaster County commissioners want to ease the restrictions they adopted just last year governing wind turbines in a move they see as recalibrating rules that have proven prohibitive. “It has become apparent the (county’s rules) failed to strike an appropriate balance that would allow a viable path toward wind energy development,” the five commissioners wrote in a joint letter to the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Department. Continue reading here.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED READING

Top six wind trends of 2020 (so far), by Nora Zacharski, Into the Wind, AWEA Blog
This has been a year like no other, complete with a tremendous amount of uncertainty for our country and the entire world. Despite the many challenges, the wind industry continued to provide reliable, clean, and affordable energy for the American people. And there’s no sign that it will be slowing down any time soon. Here is a look at 2020’s top industry trends (at least through November).

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Wind and Solar Jobs: U.S. Bureau of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook

How wind turbines are providing a safety net for rural farmers

Written by Molly Bergen, World Resources Institute
Republished by Red, Green, and Blue

On a farm in O’Neill, Nebraska, Mike Zakrzewski wakes up every morning to tend his cattle and grow corn and soybeans on the farm he’s known since childhood. The youngest of nine children, he began farming  with his dad in 1982, eventually buying the land from his parents and raising two children there with his wife. But due to climate change, this corner of Nebraska is not the same land he farmed with his father almost four decades ago. Continue reading here.

Photo by Mike Zakrzewski: Nebraska’s Grande Prairie Wind Farm

Previously Posted: Nebraska’s wind energy continues to grow, Norfolk Daily News

American Wind Energy Association Resources

Growth in Solar Capacity Projected to Fuel Rural Economies

By Eric Galatas, Public News Service – Nebraska

LYONS, Neb. — The growth of the solar industry has brought a wave of new projects to Nebraska, including a community solar farm in Scottsbluff that’s expected to save the city more than $2 million in energy costs over 25 years. With more projects on the horizon, Lu Nelsen, policy program associate for the advocacy group Center for Rural Affairs, says solar is poised to boost rural economies. Nelsen says advances in technology and manufacturing have made solar more affordable for homes, communities and for big utility companies.

Read more or listen to the recording here.

Pixabay Photo

Previously Posted

Wind farms can bring economic benefits, officials say, by Elizabeth A. Elliott, Blair Enterprise Publishing

MORE MIDWEST NEWS

OPPD NEWS

Lighting the way – ahead of schedule, by Jason Kuiper, The Wire
After accelerating the replacement of streetlights with new LED fixtures last year, OPPD is running ahead of schedule on the project. The utility announced the project in 2018 to update the 98,744 streetlights in the OPPD service territory over a five-year period. So far, 32,000 lights have been replaced. Lights in smaller towns are done and SIDS will be among the next wave of replacements.

Area wind farm heading into construction phase

Published by The Hastings Tribune

The project is set to include three different wind farms that will take up parts of Saline, Fillmore and Thayer counties and will cost around $1 billion. The project will occupy 45,000 acres in Saline County and will stretch 11 miles from one end of the Saline County project to the edge of the Thayer County project. The three wind farms — one of which is located in Saline and Fillmore counties, another in Saline County exclusively and a third in Thayer County — are expected to generate nearly 450 megawatts of energy. Click here to read more.

Aksamit’s Projects

Nebraska Senators Push for Better Wind Energy Incentives

by Paul Hammel / World-Herald Bureau

LINCOLN — A group of senators is gearing up another push for better incentives for wind energy projects in Nebraska, including a first-ever production tax credit.

With the expiration of the federal production tax credit and growing demand for clean energy by companies and utilities, lawmakers say now is the time to remove barriers and increase incentives for wind farms.

Click here to continue reading.