Supers order six-month moratorium on applications for wind projects

Although it’s still true that Burt County has yet to receive a conditional use permit application to construct a commercial wind energy installation, it will be another six months before anybody gets the chance.

During its Dec. 12 meeting, Burt County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution ordering a six-month moratorium on permit applications for wind farms.

In its original form, the resolution called for a one-year pause, but a motion for its passage was never made. The amended version passed by a 6-1 margin with District 7 Supervisor Carl Pearson voting against the measure.

The county’s zoning regulations regarding wind farms now goes back to the planning commission for further study.

Pearson wondered how the six months will be spent.

“Do they go over the whole thing in the moratorium?” Pearson asked. “Is it jus the setbacks? What are we going to cover.”

Board chairman Dave Schold, who represents District 2, said he’s been listening to officials from other counties who are going through many of the same issues as Burt County.

“There are certain things they would have added, like setbacks from towns or cemeteries,” he said. “We need time to look into that and see if we need to consider them for our (regulations).

Schold also said the county needs more time to decide on rules for decommissioning of the turbines and their towers.

He said it is the board’s duty to protect the county, as a whole, from unforeseen problems that may come along with a wind project.

A month ago, the board conveyed a conditional use permit to RWE Clean Energy to erect a 196-foot meteorological tower in Summit Township to further study the economic feasibility of erecting wind towers in central Burt County.

A spokesman for the company, Sue Hansen, told the board another moratorium could be detrimental to the company’s project.

She said the company has contracts with the Southwest Power Pool and Omaha Public Power District to provide electric generation.

“There are certain dates in there for commercial operation,” she said. “We also have to work with OPPD to lay groundwork for their interconnection. All of that will have to be put on hold.”

She said another delay also could see the landowners who have agreed to work with RWE to pull out of those agreements.

“They have been very patient. This project has been out there 10 years and they’re finally starting to see things move along and they’re very excited about it,” she said. “But if there’s a moratorium, we may lose some. I don’t know what the patience level will be after that.”

Hansen said RWE has been diligent about following the regulations the county adopted in 2022. Those rules were put in place following a lengthy moratorium. “If you need another moratorium to discuss things, if you could shorten it to six months, that would be very helpful.”

Graham Christensen, who has been advocating for a wind energy project in Burt County for more than a decade, said this project is being favorably received in the construction area because it has proceeded in a manner that let’s people participate.

“Why are we reinventing the wheel here?” he asked. “This has been through zoning. It took years to get it this far.”

District 4 Supervisor Paul Richards said he wants to hear something from the residents who support a wind project.

“The only contact I’ve had is from people who are against them,” he said. “So who do we really represent?”

He said the wildfire in 2022 and Internet video of wind turbines catching fire have changed opinions about wind energy.

“The question that’s been asked of me is “How do we know?’ We’re in a three-year drought. What would it be like if something like that happened here?”

District 1 Supervisor Sam Titus said the negatives the board hears are from other counties where turbines have been installed and issues have arisen.

“People were promised things that didn’t happen,” he said. “That’s the scary part. That’s where the protection comes in.”

RWE still has permission to erect its meteorological tower. The CUP allows its use for up to three years. Also, the two-year environmental study begun over the summer also will be allowed to continue.

In other business Dec. 12, the board:

— Signed an interlocal agreement with Cuming County to provide diversion programs for juvenile offenders. The board passed a similar agreement earlier this year that is in effect until the end of June 2024. The new agreement goes into effect in July and lasts for a year.

County Clerk Sarah Freidel said the reason the new agreement is being sought is mostly financial. She said the program’s administrators are seeking grant funding and they want to be able to show that all of the entities are still participating.

“They’re trying to get ahead of the game for next time,” she said.