The suit asks that the special-use permit granted by the Henry County Board last December be declared void because, among other things, the county allegedly failed to hold a public hearing with notice of the particular location of the property. It also alleges Avangrid failed to identify a specific turbine model, the exact number of turbines and the final locations of turbines.

Legal Illinois

A judge on Monday temporarily blocked two Cherry County Board members from voting on a planned wind energy project in the Sand Hills, siding with opponents who argued that those board members have a financial stake in the project’s outcome.

Legal Nebraska

“All we’re looking for is that this matter be determined by people who don’t have a vested interest in the outcome,” said Jason Bruno, the Omaha attorney representing Preserve the Sandhills.

Legal Nebraska

"This route was picked as the cheapest for NPPD. But it is the most expensive for the health of humans and destructive to our natural habitat," the group said in a news release. The 225-mile high-voltage line will cut through the heart of the Sandhills, from Stapleton north to Thedford and east to near Clearwater.  

Legal Transmission USA Nebraska

"This route was picked as the cheapest for NPPD. But it is the most expensive for the health of humans and destructive to our natural habitat," the group said in a news release. The 225-mile high-voltage line will cut through the heart of the Sandhills, from Stapleton north to Thedford and east to near Clearwater.  

Legal Transmission Nebraska USA

In the civil suit, the petitioners say officials violated policy and law. They want the U-S District Court to order a review of the permits and take a harder look at the environmental impact, and what would happen to species like the Whooping Crane and the American Burying Beetle.

Legal Transmission Nebraska

NextEra Energy and some six dozen owners of land in Reno County filed suit in district court this week. The group seeks to reverse the county’s denial of a conditional-use permit for a proposed wind farm in the southeast part of the county.

Legal Kansas

This civil suit filed in US District Court against the United State Fish and Wildlife Service challenges the permit granted Nebraska Public Power District to construct the R-Project Transmission Line slated to go through the Sandhills. The petition, which can be downloaded from this page, asserts that the government agency failed to properly assess the environmental impacts of the transmission line, particularly with regard to the Whooping Crane and the American Burying Beetle. The R-Project is a 225-mile transmission line. 

Transmission Legal Nebraska USA

This civil suit filed in US District Court against the United State Fish and Wildlife Service challenges the permit granted Nebraska Public Power District to construct the R-Project Transmission Line slated to go through the Sandhills. The petition, which can be downloaded from this page, asserts that the government agency failed to properly assess the environmental impacts of the transmission line, particularly with regard to the Whooping Crane and the American Burying Beetle. The R-Project is a 225-mile transmission line. 

Legal Transmission Nebraska USA

In these two court cases, parent company Invenergy, received cash outlays for two Illinois projects, Bishop Hill and California Ridge. The funds were distributed, but the government witheld a portion of the grants claiming they were ineligible under the grant program. A suit was filed by Invenergy to recover the full grant amount it claimed it was entitled to and to prevent the government from clawing-back any additional grant money. In these final decisions, one for each project, the court ruled in favor of the Treasury. A portion of one decision is provided below. The full decisions can be accessed by selecting the document icons on this page.

Legal USA Illinois

In these two court cases, parent company Invenergy, received cash outlays for two Illinois projects, Bishop Hill and California Ridge. The funds were distributed, but the government witheld a portion of the grants claiming they were ineligible under the grant program. A suit was filed by Invenergy to recover the full grant amount it claimed it was entitled to and to prevent the government from clawing-back any additional grant money. In these final decisions, one for each project, the court ruled in favor of the Treasury. A portion of one decision is provided below. The full decisions can be accessed by selecting the document icons on this page.

Legal Illinois USA

District judge Steven Hornbaker on Friday told wind farm opponents they had until Wednesday to file any further motions with the court and said he will issue a memorandum decision in about 10 days. The wind farm company, county commissioners, and the county clerk are defendants in the lawsuit.

Legal Kansas

This should be time to party at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. After all, the agency’s underused marine terminal in New Bedford is finally profitable, and a big tenant is on its way. The saga of the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal took an unfavorable turn against the state on Monday when a jury in Suffolk Superior Court ruled that contractors that built the port are owed at least $20 million for unpaid work.

Legal Massachusetts

The Department of Planning & Development recently issued a cease-and-desist order to an unauthorized solar installation off Carr’s Trail. The June 4 notice issued to 394 Carr’s Realty LLC and WED Coventry Seven LLC — a subsidiary of North Kingstown-based Green Development LLC, formerly Wind Energy Development LLC, founded by Mark DePasquale — claims a recent site inspection by two members of the Department of Planning & Development found “hundreds of piles had been driven into the ground commencing construction of a proposed solar generating facility that had been denied development plan approval by the Coventry Planning Commission” two years ago.

Legal Zoning/Planning Rhode Island

This was a very large project, covering some 23,000 acres with 76 wind turbines, and both the North Dakota Game & Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were critical of it for its potential impacts on wildlife. Birds, in particular. The three-member, all-Republican commission rejected the permit for the project because they didn’t feel NextEra had demonstrated that they’d do enough to mitigate wildlife impacts.

Impact on Wildlife Legal North Dakota

The North Dakota PSC denied a permit for Nextera to construct and operate the 200 megawatt (76 turbine) Burke Wind Energy facility proposed for Burke County, ND. An excerpt of the PSC's decision is provided below. The full order denying the permit and letters from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and ND Game and Fish can be downloaded from this page. 

Legal North Dakota

Regulatory filings showed federal and state agencies charged with protecting wildlife have long been concerned with the proposed wind farm's location. A North Dakota Game and Fish Department official said upon first hearing about the project in 2016, agency staff indicated the developer "could not have picked a worse spot in the state."

Impact on Wildlife Legal North Dakota

Harold Youngblut filed an appeal Thursday challenging District Court Judge Kellyann Lekar’s April 29 ruling in favor of Washburn Wind Energy’s 35-turbine wind farm. The notice filed by Youngblut’s attorney, John Holmes, claims the district court erred when it failed to allow Youngblut and others to testify the turbine locations are currently used for agricultural purposes as defined in the county zoning ordinance.

Legal Iowa

A petition was iled Thursday in district court by Overland Park lawyers Robert Harken and Robert Titus on behalf of 15 wind farm opponents. The petition seeks a judge’s review, declaratory relief, and a temporary restraining order. It also claims the state open records act was violated.

Legal Kansas

County commissioners balked Monday at paying a bill from Wichita attorney Pat Hughes that includes consultations regarding a proposed wind farm in the south portion of the county.

Legal Zoning/Planning Kansas