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Wind farm gets hearing
Published 11:31 a.m., May 2, 2009
About 130 people attended a public information meeting on a proposed 60-megawatt wind farm hosted by the Office of Energy Security (OES) Wednesday evening in Barnesville.
OES is a part of the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
A 21,500 acre wind farm is being proposed by the Project Resources Corporation in Minneapolis that would be located in Becker, Clay and Otter Tail counties.
The purpose of the public information meeting was to answer any questions and to hear opinions on the proposed project, said Larry Hartman, OES project manager. Hartman added that as a member of a neutral government body, he couldn’t comment on the nature of the meeting.
Public comment period on the application and the draft site permit of the proposed project is open until 4:30 p.m. May 20. Written comments can be sent by mail, fax or e-mail and should include the project docket number, IP6603/WS-08-1449. All comments should be directed to Larry Hartman, larry.hartman@state.mn.us or 651-296-5089. Comments can also be left on the PUC’s energy facility permitting Web site, www.energyfacilities.puc.state.mn.us.
The Project Resources Corporation is applying to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for a site permit on behalf of the Lakeswind Wind Power Partners. The site permit application was submitted on Jan. 20, 2009. The PUC issued a draft site permit Feb. 12, according to a project description by OES.
Project Resources Corporation is proposing to install between 17 to 35 wind turbine generators and plans to be running by December 2010, according to OES’s description.
The project was originally proposed for 19,000 acres located in Becker, Clay and Otter Tail counties. However, the amount of land has been amended to increase the project size by 2,500 acres.
About 19 acres of that is land that would be removed from agricultural production for use as turbine sites and access roads to the wind farm. The land used for the wind farm is expected to be leased from the landowners by the Lakeswind Wind Power Partners, Hartman said.
The project would use 80-meter (263-foot) tubular towers measured at the hub height. The rotor diameter of the turbines would be 252 to 331 feet with a maximum overall height of about 393 to 429 feet above grade when one blade is in the vertical position, according to the OES description.
Energy from the project is expected to be delivered directly to the Great River Energy Tamarac Substation on the corner of Minnesota Highway 34 and 183rd Avenue in Otter Tail County, according to the OES description.
During the public comment period, people have the option of request a contested case hearing on the project. The request must include the issues to be addressed in the hearing and the reason why a contested case hearing is required to resolve the issue, according to the OES.
If there aren’t any contested case hearing requests, the PUC can issue a final permit. However, Hartman notes that the company will have more permits it needs to obtain after the PUS permit before it can move forward.
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Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post. To post a comment you will need to register. Or, if you're already registered but have not included your true, verifiable identity with your registration, you will need to update your account to include your identity. Effective Dec. 1, 2009, all posts appear with the commenter's true identity, which must be verified by site staff. Those who registered prior to Dec. 1, 2009, should be aware that once you update your information with your true identity, all prior posts under your user name will also indicate your true identity. If you do not wish to link yourself to prior comments, you should register again with a different user name.Posted by metasonics (Jamie Cooper) on May 3, 2009 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
we should deny this project and do our own, to keep the profits local!
Posted by Mel (anonymous) on May 3, 2009 at 4:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Where are the environmentalists on this bird killer???
What will the scrap be worth in a few years??
Is it really the way to go??
Posted by AmyO (anonymous) on May 4, 2009 at 5:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jamie:
Financing, developing and producing a project like this is simply not possible on a strictly local level. Maybe your next crusade for the City should be an effort to get community members and leaders to team up with an organization such as National Wind? www.nationalwind.com They were working on one in Big Stone County, but interestingly, Ottertail Power is requiring over $330,000 to conduct a study to see how much it would cost to connect the wind farm to their power grid. (An excessively large amount) Needless to say, the Big Stone County people (or Little Rock Wind) is having a difficult time coming up with the money. Now what would Ottertail Power have to loose if a wind farm went up in Big Stone County?
Posted by akmscott (Mike Scott) on May 4, 2009 at 6:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They are soooo green and and are so soothing to look at!Not to mention the amout of birds killed per turbine.It's the Messiah's wish and shall be done!
Posted by AmyO (anonymous) on May 4, 2009 at 9:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, why not put our aesthetic preferences above the needs of the planet that allows us to live? We wouldn't want to be troubled by some unsightly turbine if we could benefit our planet, right?
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