Scranton area residents were invited to a meeting March 26 with representatives of MidAmerican Energy for a status report on a proposed 52-turbine wind project, but according to MidAmerican, the project still isn’t a definite “go.”
Volkswind USA developed the project and received the necessary conditional use permit from the Greene County board of adjustment in March 2013. The company sold the project to MidAmerican for possible development.
The proposed $240 million project would have a total capacity of 120 megawatts. Thirty-six landowners and a total of 7,800 acres are involved, with sites in 11 sections of Kendrick Township and eight sections of Scranton Township. Turbines would be between 260th and 190th St, and between B Ave and Highway 25. One turbine would be located east of B Ave north of the Highway 30 diagonal.
“The project is currently undergoing further evaluation and studies to determine if the project is viable for MidAmerican Energy Company, including evaluating land rights and performing additional environmental and transmission studies,” a MidAmerican spokesperson said Wednesday. “No construction timeline has been established at this time.”
However, there was discussion of construction in 2015 at the meeting last week.
If the 52 turbines are constructed, the project could potentially add close to $1.2 million annually to the county’s tax base, assessor Linda Spearman estimated a year ago.
The state has a complex formula for taxing wind turbines, including the progressive reduction on a seven-year tax abatement. The seven turbines of the Hardin Hilltop Wind Farm are the only ones that are now paying property tax, and that is at a reduced rate. The five turbines of the Junction Hilltop Wind Farm and the 20 in the Rippey wind farm (owned by Google) are not yet on the tax rolls. The first property tax revenue to the county from the Junction Hilltop and the Rippey wind farms will be seen in September 2015.
