Last Tuesday, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission rejected a request for a permit for the city’s proposed 8-turbine wind project.
In a 5-0 vote, the Public Utilities Commission voted to deny the city’s request for the permit that would allow the wind project to be built just across the Minnesota River.
City officials, along with the city attorney, say that the city of New Ulm will continue to meet in order to find an alternative so the project can be approved.
To read more, click here for a full story from the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
December 17, 2009
The city of New Ulm recently condemned the air space over more than 235 acres of private property in order to build the 8 megawatt wind farm that the city is currently planning. Already, the city has acquired easements for 247 acres where the actual wind farm would be built, however, the state also requires an additional 235 acres of adjacent property, which falls under the pathway of the winds from the free flowing turbines.
So far, the city has seen negative responses from property owners, with many of them refusing to sign the easements.
The legal question regarding the project is whether or not the city has the right to condemn the air space that’s above the adjacent properties, and whether or not the wind turbines fall within the narrow definition of “public use” in the state of Minnesota.
To read about this project, click here for an article from the Wall Street Journal. Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal blog.
October 26, 2009
The city of New Ulm is deciding whether or not to acquire wind rights, as its last resort, to create and produce five eclectically generated wind turbines to produced energy for the city.
The city’s plan has raised controversy from landowners, who have been protesting the wind turbines over the past year. Right now, only three agreements have been reached with property owners to acquire wind rights. The agreements reached with the three landowners are lease agreements, where each property owner will receive $6,400 annually for one-half to one-acre parcels.
Acquiring wind rights for the wind energy project is necessary to ensure that winds have unimpeded flow to the turbines, and if one landowner who sells wind rights causes blockage to the turbines, there could be major setbacks. This would mean that landowners selling wind rights could not have their own towering wind turbines within a certain distance of the city-operated turbines, meaning on an adjacent properties.
Eminent domain is a hot issue right now, and the state Energy Security Office predicts that if it needs to be used, it could have severe adverse affects. Right now, there are 235 acres of wind rights yet to be acquired before the wind turbine project can proceed.
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