February 23, 2017 at 1:26 a.m.
Finalizing details
Wind farm developers are working toward June 1 construction start
Finalizing details
Copyright 2017 The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
Construction of Bluff Point Wind Energy Center is expected to begin June 1 and should be wrapped up by Thanksgiving.
But there are still plenty of T’s to cross and I’s to dot before the 43 wind turbines planned for southern Jay County receive their building permits.
Jay County Commissioners met Wednesday afternoon with representatives of NextEra Energy Resources LLC, developer of the Bluff Point project, and Minnesota-based Blattner Energy, the contractor building the wind farm.
Also on hand were county attorney Bill Hinkle, NextEra’s attorney, county engineer Dan Watson, county surveyor Brad Daniels and Jay-Portland Building and Planning director John Hemmelgarn.
The wind farm, which has been on the drawing board for more than a decade, now calls for a total of 57 turbines, 43 in Jay and the remainder in Randolph County, generating a total of 120 megawatts of electricity. The Jay County turbines will account for 83 megawatts of that total.
“We’d like to break ground this spring,” attorney Mary Solada of Bingham-Greenbaum-Doll, Indianapolis, told the commissioners, speaking on behalf of NextEra.
But for that to happen, there are still plans to be submitted and reviewed, calculations to be made on the potential cost of repairs to county roads and ditches, and bonds to be posted. Originally, plans had called for construction to begin in May.
Under an economic development agreement, NextEra will make four payments to the county of $249,000 earmarked for economic development. The first one is due the day concrete is poured for the first wind turbine foundation.
“It sounds to me like we’ve got 90 percent” of the supporting documents together to win final approval and building permits, Solada said.
Rule 5 permits related to soil erosion and run-off during construction have been approved by Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District, said Ryan Dalchow, site manager for Blattner Energy.
A number of road surveys are still in process, but Blattner officials believe those can be completed in the next two weeks.
Once all the supporting documents are finalized they will be reviewed by Watson and Daniels. They’ll seek more information if necessary but will then make a recommendation to the county commissioners for action. Once the commissioners give the project the green light, the building and planning office will be able to issue permits.
Hemmelgarn, saying he has heard opposition to the project from the public in recent months, focused his questions of decommissioning of the wind farm.
The wind farm has a life expectancy of 30 years. But what happens, Hemmelgarn asked, if its developers walk away.
“There will be security in place,” responded Solada.
During the first eight years of a wind farm, the salvage value of a wind turbine exceeds the cost of removing it. After that, the turbines will be evaluated by an independent engineer and the company will post a security bond covering the difference between the salvage value and the removal cost.
“That’s spelled out in our decommissioning agreement,” said Hinkle.
But, Solada added, it’s unlikely NextEra will walk away.
“They’re not selling the electricity as a merchant,” she said. “They have a guaranteed purchaser at a fixed price for 30 years.”
The company will also post a performance bond valued at one and a half times the estimated cost of all necessary repairs to roads, side ditches, and county drains.
“We are well aware of these obligations,” said Solada.
Once underway, the construction project will be enormous in scale. Blattner representatives said there would be 3,500 feet of trenching each day. The foundation for each turbine calls for 400 to 500 trucks of concrete, or about 50 truckloads per foundation.Copyright 2017 The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
Construction of Bluff Point Wind Energy Center is expected to begin June 1 and should be wrapped up by Thanksgiving.
But there are still plenty of T’s to cross and I’s to dot before the 43 wind turbines planned for southern Jay County receive their building permits.
Jay County Commissioners met Wednesday afternoon with representatives of NextEra Energy Resources LLC, developer of the Bluff Point project, and Minnesota-based Blattner Energy, the contractor building the wind farm.
Also on hand were county attorney Bill Hinkle, NextEra’s attorney, county engineer Dan Watson, county surveyor Brad Daniels and Jay-Portland Building and Planning director John Hemmelgarn.
The wind farm, which has been on the drawing board for more than a decade, now calls for a total of 57 turbines, 43 in Jay and the remainder in Randolph County, generating a total of 120 megawatts of electricity. The Jay County turbines will account for 83 megawatts of that total.
“We’d like to break ground this spring,” attorney Mary Solada of Bingham-Greenbaum-Doll, Indianapolis, told the commissioners, speaking on behalf of NextEra.
But for that to happen, there are still plans to be submitted and reviewed, calculations to be made on the potential cost of repairs to county roads and ditches, and bonds to be posted. Originally, plans had called for construction to begin in May.
Under an economic development agreement, NextEra will make four payments to the county of $249,000 earmarked for economic development. The first one is due the day concrete is poured for the first wind turbine foundation.
“It sounds to me like we’ve got 90 percent” of the supporting documents together to win final approval and building permits, Solada said.
Rule 5 permits related to soil erosion and run-off during construction have been approved by Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District, said Ryan Dalchow, site manager for Blattner Energy.
A number of road surveys are still in process, but Blattner officials believe those can be completed in the next two weeks.
Once all the supporting documents are finalized they will be reviewed by Watson and Daniels. They’ll seek more information if necessary but will then make a recommendation to the county commissioners for action. Once the commissioners give the project the green light, the building and planning office will be able to issue permits.
Hemmelgarn, saying he has heard opposition to the project from the public in recent months, focused his questions of decommissioning of the wind farm.
The wind farm has a life expectancy of 30 years. But what happens, Hemmelgarn asked, if its developers walk away.
“There will be security in place,” responded Solada.
During the first eight years of a wind farm, the salvage value of a wind turbine exceeds the cost of removing it. After that, the turbines will be evaluated by an independent engineer and the company will post a security bond covering the difference between the salvage value and the removal cost.
“That’s spelled out in our decommissioning agreement,” said Hinkle.
But, Solada added, it’s unlikely NextEra will walk away.
“They’re not selling the electricity as a merchant,” she said. “They have a guaranteed purchaser at a fixed price for 30 years.”
The company will also post a performance bond valued at one and a half times the estimated cost of all necessary repairs to roads, side ditches, and county drains.
We are well aware of these obligations,” said Solada.
Once underway, the construction project will be enormous in scale. Blattner representatives said there would be 3,500 feet of trenching each day. The foundation for each turbine calls for 400 to 500 trucks of concrete, or about 50 truckloads per foundation.
All Rights Reserved
Construction of Bluff Point Wind Energy Center is expected to begin June 1 and should be wrapped up by Thanksgiving.
But there are still plenty of T’s to cross and I’s to dot before the 43 wind turbines planned for southern Jay County receive their building permits.
Jay County Commissioners met Wednesday afternoon with representatives of NextEra Energy Resources LLC, developer of the Bluff Point project, and Minnesota-based Blattner Energy, the contractor building the wind farm.
Also on hand were county attorney Bill Hinkle, NextEra’s attorney, county engineer Dan Watson, county surveyor Brad Daniels and Jay-Portland Building and Planning director John Hemmelgarn.
The wind farm, which has been on the drawing board for more than a decade, now calls for a total of 57 turbines, 43 in Jay and the remainder in Randolph County, generating a total of 120 megawatts of electricity. The Jay County turbines will account for 83 megawatts of that total.
“We’d like to break ground this spring,” attorney Mary Solada of Bingham-Greenbaum-Doll, Indianapolis, told the commissioners, speaking on behalf of NextEra.
But for that to happen, there are still plans to be submitted and reviewed, calculations to be made on the potential cost of repairs to county roads and ditches, and bonds to be posted. Originally, plans had called for construction to begin in May.
Under an economic development agreement, NextEra will make four payments to the county of $249,000 earmarked for economic development. The first one is due the day concrete is poured for the first wind turbine foundation.
“It sounds to me like we’ve got 90 percent” of the supporting documents together to win final approval and building permits, Solada said.
Rule 5 permits related to soil erosion and run-off during construction have been approved by Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District, said Ryan Dalchow, site manager for Blattner Energy.
A number of road surveys are still in process, but Blattner officials believe those can be completed in the next two weeks.
Once all the supporting documents are finalized they will be reviewed by Watson and Daniels. They’ll seek more information if necessary but will then make a recommendation to the county commissioners for action. Once the commissioners give the project the green light, the building and planning office will be able to issue permits.
Hemmelgarn, saying he has heard opposition to the project from the public in recent months, focused his questions of decommissioning of the wind farm.
The wind farm has a life expectancy of 30 years. But what happens, Hemmelgarn asked, if its developers walk away.
“There will be security in place,” responded Solada.
During the first eight years of a wind farm, the salvage value of a wind turbine exceeds the cost of removing it. After that, the turbines will be evaluated by an independent engineer and the company will post a security bond covering the difference between the salvage value and the removal cost.
“That’s spelled out in our decommissioning agreement,” said Hinkle.
But, Solada added, it’s unlikely NextEra will walk away.
“They’re not selling the electricity as a merchant,” she said. “They have a guaranteed purchaser at a fixed price for 30 years.”
The company will also post a performance bond valued at one and a half times the estimated cost of all necessary repairs to roads, side ditches, and county drains.
“We are well aware of these obligations,” said Solada.
Once underway, the construction project will be enormous in scale. Blattner representatives said there would be 3,500 feet of trenching each day. The foundation for each turbine calls for 400 to 500 trucks of concrete, or about 50 truckloads per foundation.Copyright 2017 The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
Construction of Bluff Point Wind Energy Center is expected to begin June 1 and should be wrapped up by Thanksgiving.
But there are still plenty of T’s to cross and I’s to dot before the 43 wind turbines planned for southern Jay County receive their building permits.
Jay County Commissioners met Wednesday afternoon with representatives of NextEra Energy Resources LLC, developer of the Bluff Point project, and Minnesota-based Blattner Energy, the contractor building the wind farm.
Also on hand were county attorney Bill Hinkle, NextEra’s attorney, county engineer Dan Watson, county surveyor Brad Daniels and Jay-Portland Building and Planning director John Hemmelgarn.
The wind farm, which has been on the drawing board for more than a decade, now calls for a total of 57 turbines, 43 in Jay and the remainder in Randolph County, generating a total of 120 megawatts of electricity. The Jay County turbines will account for 83 megawatts of that total.
“We’d like to break ground this spring,” attorney Mary Solada of Bingham-Greenbaum-Doll, Indianapolis, told the commissioners, speaking on behalf of NextEra.
But for that to happen, there are still plans to be submitted and reviewed, calculations to be made on the potential cost of repairs to county roads and ditches, and bonds to be posted. Originally, plans had called for construction to begin in May.
Under an economic development agreement, NextEra will make four payments to the county of $249,000 earmarked for economic development. The first one is due the day concrete is poured for the first wind turbine foundation.
“It sounds to me like we’ve got 90 percent” of the supporting documents together to win final approval and building permits, Solada said.
Rule 5 permits related to soil erosion and run-off during construction have been approved by Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District, said Ryan Dalchow, site manager for Blattner Energy.
A number of road surveys are still in process, but Blattner officials believe those can be completed in the next two weeks.
Once all the supporting documents are finalized they will be reviewed by Watson and Daniels. They’ll seek more information if necessary but will then make a recommendation to the county commissioners for action. Once the commissioners give the project the green light, the building and planning office will be able to issue permits.
Hemmelgarn, saying he has heard opposition to the project from the public in recent months, focused his questions of decommissioning of the wind farm.
The wind farm has a life expectancy of 30 years. But what happens, Hemmelgarn asked, if its developers walk away.
“There will be security in place,” responded Solada.
During the first eight years of a wind farm, the salvage value of a wind turbine exceeds the cost of removing it. After that, the turbines will be evaluated by an independent engineer and the company will post a security bond covering the difference between the salvage value and the removal cost.
“That’s spelled out in our decommissioning agreement,” said Hinkle.
But, Solada added, it’s unlikely NextEra will walk away.
“They’re not selling the electricity as a merchant,” she said. “They have a guaranteed purchaser at a fixed price for 30 years.”
The company will also post a performance bond valued at one and a half times the estimated cost of all necessary repairs to roads, side ditches, and county drains.
We are well aware of these obligations,” said Solada.
Once underway, the construction project will be enormous in scale. Blattner representatives said there would be 3,500 feet of trenching each day. The foundation for each turbine calls for 400 to 500 trucks of concrete, or about 50 truckloads per foundation.
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD