Clearing the air

I’m writing this column as a citizen and member of the board of governors for W-E Wind, LLC, the local organization that has led the wind energy effort in Eddy County.

I was the economic development director for New Rockford when the idea of a wind farm first floated into our orbit nearly 18 years ago.

During my first few weeks on the job, I met with every NRABC (then known as NRACBC) board member about their ideas. Tracy Henningsgard, one of the board members at the time, brought up wind energy in my very first meeting with him in 2006. I recall that he talked about the mutual benefit: the potential to generate tax revenue for the county, city and school district and to provide supplemental income to landowners. We would also be producing a source of renewable energy capable of providing electricity to thousands of homes, farms and businesses, he noted.

We formed W-E Wind, LLC in 2009, after holding public meetings in 2008 and hearing a great deal of interest from residents and landowners in both Eddy and Wells counties.

Since then, community leaders, residents and landowners have all participated in this project. We’ve received a groundswell of support from people of all walks of life.

Since the beginning, public meetings have been held to consider varied opinions about how to balance the interest of landowners who wanted to pursue wind energy development with the wishes of those who preferred not to participate.

Throughout the past 15 years, the public has been invited to be a part of this process over and over again. I’ve answered many questions at kitchen tables, at community centers and in both my economic development and newspaper offices.

In regard to ordinances, Wells County took the lead, developing and enacting a wind energy-friendly zoning ordinance in 2009.

It took eight more years for Eddy County to enact its zoning ordinance, but the result was the same. In April 2017, Eddy County approved the ordinance that is currently on the books, which provides a 1,440 feet minimum setback – that means no wind turbine will ever be installed within a quarter-mile of any occupied residence, and in some cases the distance will be greater.

If there was ever any indication that the majority of landowners did not support this project, we would have stopped. The governors of W-E Wind, LLC have spent countless hours advancing this project, facing setback after setback.

Members of W-E Wind were present in 2017 when the zoning ordinance regarding wind energy development was last changed. Two public meetings were held, and the current ordinance reflects the result of those conversations. We attended the second meeting on April 24, which had more than 40 people in attendance. It was standing room only in the basement of the courthouse that day, and the discussion was robust and productive.

As for our development partner, PRC Wind, they are here because WE invited them. This is not the case of an outside company forcing a project on a community against its will. We sought them out, pitched our project to them and developed a partnership with them.

We have landowners representing over 40,000 acres of land in Eddy and Wells County who have continually expressed support. Many have signed documents of interest and participation three times over the past several years, and have recently renewed their lease agreements for this project.

Right now work is underway to develop a site plan for the wind farm – which means PRC Wind will mark on a map where they propose to place each turbine, underground cable, power pole and road. Once that is ready, the project will enter the permitting process. This is a lengthy but important procedure to ensure that the project will be built in a way that is financially feasible for the development company, generates the appropriate amount of power for the purchaser and takes landowner and area residents’ wishes into account.

The county will be asked to approve the placement of each turbine and road, and hold public hearings to receive comments from the public on the proposed project. Upon township and county approval, the project will advance to the Public Service Commission, where numerous more hearings will be held to obtain approval from state and federal agencies.

Some have asked, will it be too late to make changes once these permitting hearings begin? Absolutely not. A recent wind project before the Public Service Commission saw 77 relocations during its permitting process, again done to ensure a balance between public and private interest.

This has always been a community wind project. The goal is to provide economic development opportunities that will not only financially benefit landowners but also our local government entities through payments in lieu of property tax. The owner of the wind farm – not the landowners – will pay taxes to the county, city, townships and school district, to the tune of about $1.25 million per year based on recent estimates.

The landowners, meanwhile, will receive an estimated $42.5 million dollars in lease payments over the course of 20 years.

As the publisher of this newspaper, I purposely stay off of government boards so that I can maintain impartiality. My number one priority is to inform and educate readers and generate productive discussion about community issues.

Yet, when it comes to wind energy development, I have a conflict of interest. I have been up front about that since the beginning of my tenure as publisher.

I filed the paperwork to establish W-E Wind, LLC. A simple business search on the Secretary of State’s website will reveal that I am named as an organizer on the business’s formation documents. I am also the registered agent for W-E Wind, LLC.

Some may remember the editorial I wrote about wind energy for this newspaper some seven years ago, on May 8, 2017, right after the public hearing that established the quarter-mile setback for wind turbines.

I am fully aware that there are some who do not agree with this project. That said, I also know from experience that no project worth doing is done without controversy. That’s the American way. W-E Wind, LLC is made up of local people, landowners and community leaders, all with one goal in mind: to build a project that the community can be proud of.

Yes, some people might be able to hear the whir of the blades if they are standing right underneath a turbine, and others may see flickers or shadows from the blades at certain times, again though, within the “orbit” of the turbine. That’s why we have setbacks – our county’s rules are in place so that a landowner can benefit from development he chooses for his own land without creating a nuisance to his neighbor.

Let’s continue to engage in civil discourse. Read the ordinance. Ask the questions, and respect your neighbor’s difference of opinion. If there’s a way to address that concern, then PRC Wind will do it, especially if it moves the project ahead.

I expect more discussion as we move forward, and I look ahead to the day when we see the wind energy industry thrive in Eddy County. It will be a long time coming, but well worth the wait.