AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan penned a new post on Medium, looking at exciting news from 2017’s second quarter and announcing an important new celebration: #AmericanWindWeek.
The American Wind Energy Association has launched the first-ever #AmericanWindWeek. Wind power proponents from across the country will highlight the benefits wind brings to towns from coast to coast. To help spread the word on social media, use: #AmericanWindWeek.
All week long, AWEA will highlight this American success story at wind farm open houses, charity events and on social media, culminating at the Fowler Wind Fair in Fowler, Indiana. Fowler is a perfect example of how wind brings new opportunity to rural America. Learn more here.
Nebraska Has a Lot to Celebrate!
Stats from AWEA’s Updated Nebraska Fact Sheet:
- Nebraska is one of the top states in the country for potential wind energy generation, with a technical potential of approximately 880,000 megawatts (MW) according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
- Nebraska now has 1,335 MW of installed wind power.
- State rank for installed wind capacity: 17th
- Number of wind turbines: 741
- Wind projects online: 21 (Projects over 10 MW: 14)
- Direct and indirect jobs supported: 3,001 to 4,000
- Total capital investment: $1.7 billion
- Annual land lease payments: $1-5 million
Download Nebraska’s Fact Sheet.
More Nebraska wind projects are under construction or proposed.
Below: Project names, locations and maximum capacity
Projects Under Construction
- Creston Ridge Farm (Phase II): 6.9 megawatts
- Verdigre Wind Farm: 81.5 megawatts, enough to power 25,000 homes
- One wind turbine on the west side of Seward: 1.7 megawatts
Proposed Projects
- One wind turbine northeast of Beatrice: 2 megawatts. Two more turbines are possible.
- Niobrara Wind Farm near O’Neill in Holt County: 150 megawatts
- Milligan I Project in Saline and Fillmore Counties: 300 megawatts,
- Monument Road Project northeast of Hebron in Thayer County: 76 megawatts
- Milligan 3 Project northeast of Milligan in Saline County: 73 megawatts
- Upstream Wind Energy Center Project on the north and east side of Neligh: 350 megawatts
- The Winnebago Wind Farm: 10 to 20 megawatts
- Burt County Wind Farm between Oakland and Tekamah: 12 megawatts
- Hallam Wind Farm in southern Lancaster and northern Gage counties near Hallam and Cortland: 124 megawatts
- Burr Ridge Wind Farm in Otoe County: 80 megawatts
- Magnet Wind Farm in Cedar County: approximately 50 turbines
- North Fork Wind Farm in southeast Knox County and southwest Cedar County: 200 megawatts
- Wildcat Ridge Wind Farm in Banner County: 1,500 to 2,000 megawatts
- Cherry County Wind Farm in southeast Cherry County near Thedford: 147 turbines
- Cottonwood I Wind Project south of the city of Blue Hill in Webster County: 89.5 megawatts
- Cottonwood II Wind Project in north-central Webster County: 150 megawatts
Source: Wind Energy Generation in Nebraska, The Nebraska Energy Office.
In addition to the above information, this site also includes, in many instances,, the developers, planned completion dates, as well as links to more information about the projects.
Even though we are “Nebraskans for Solar,” we support all types of green and sustainable energy, including energy efficiency and conservation, wind, geothermal, and hydro, as well as farming practices that sequester significantly greater amounts of CO2. Happy first ever American Wind Week!
Clean and affordable wind energy is powering homes and fueling economic growth. In 2019, no state is better positioned than Nebraska to reap the benefits associated with this important renewable energy resource . . . Bolstered by more than $2.6 billion in private investment and supportive state and local policy, close to 2,000 Nebraskans work in wind today. Those jobs, and the option for young people to return home, bring new life to communities that have been suffering population decline for decades . . . With another 1,428 megawatts of wind under construction or soon to start, Nebraska is one of only seven states on course to double wind capacity once the projects are completed. And much more is possible.
Wind energy has been blowing across the local news lately. For some, wind towers and turbines are noisy eyesores they’d rather never see. For others, wind farms are an opportunity for additional farm income, new jobs, and new tax revenue. Local elected officials are left to make zoning and regulatory decisions.