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Group formed to help develop state's wind energy potential

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By ALGIS J. LAUKAITIS / Lincoln Journal Star

Saturday, Dec 08, 2007 - 12:09:45 am CST

A new group has been formed to  work with state and federal officials to build more wind energy projects in Nebraska.

“The development of Nebraska’s wind energy resource potential could contribute over $7 billion to the state’s economy,” the Nebraska Wind Working Group said in a news release.

The group, which scheduled a press conference in Grand Island Friday, said its main focus will be to provide education, outreach and information about the state’s wind energy potential.

Story Photo
(LJS file)

Related Link(s):


Nebraska Wind Working Group

Nebraska ranks sixth in the U.S. in wind energy capacity but has only 48 operational wind turbines.  The total generation capacity of all those turbines is 73 megawatts, enough to power about 22,000 homes annually.

“There’s only one other state in the nation that has more wind resources with less energy development and that’s South Dakota,” John  Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union and a co-chair of the working group, said in a phone interview. “There is an enormous amount of room for us to grow.”

Other co-chairs are Sens. Cap Dierks of Ewing and Don Preister of Omaha. Larry Pearce, assistant director of the Nebraska Energy Office, serves as vice chair.

Hansen said Nebraska lags behind other states in the Midwest when it comes to wind energy development. Kansas is at 364 megawatts and has two or three more projects on the drawing board, he said. Iowa has 1,046 megawatts of wind generation capacity and Minnesota has 897.

The largest wind farm in Nebraska is south of Ainsworth, where the Nebraska Public Power District has 36 turbines. Built in 2005, the 60-megawatt facility can generate enough electricity to supply about 19,000 homes per year.

NPPD recently announced that it would like to enter into power purchase agreements with developers for up to 150 megawatts of additional wind-powered generation to be built in 2008 and 2009. Other electric utilities and private developers also have expressed interest in building more wind turbine projects in Nebraska.

The Nebraska Wind Working Group said it will identify and bring together small wind stakeholders, conduct public  information and outreach on the potential of wind energy, and encourage information sharing among wind energy stakeholders. It also will  work with the state’s public power utilities to find ways to move wind energy development forward in the state.

President Bush set a national goal of using wind energy for 20 percent of the nation’s electricity demand by 2030, and the Nebraska group said this state is pivotal in the attainment of that goal.

The group would be similar to wind working groups already established in many other states. Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and  the department’s Wind Powering America initiative.

Nebraskans interested in wind energy development are being encouraged to become involved in the effort. The group said it will use the “leadership, commitment, and innovative approach used to create the state’s successful ethanol industry” to help develop the state’s wind energy potential.

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at (402) 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.


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fjpk7 wrote on December 8, 2007 7:35 am:
" I will Never believe this is not financially viable. I don't know what kind of rhetoric the good folks at LES have suscribed to, it is sad to see. We are one of the windiest states! It is time for us to climb out of the tar pits and join rest of civilization and quit talking ourselves out of progress b/c of fear of change. So thankful to see this. It is time we are no longer duped into thinking this works in all the other states, but not Nebraska. What??? Time to get real. It also DOES save money, it is proven over and over again. "

 WCG wrote on December 8, 2007 8:05 am:
" This is great, but let's be realistic. Wind can only be a small part of our energy picture. And, of course, most of us want electricity whether the wind is blowing or not. You can't store this stuff, not in these quantities. I know people who think that wind is the solution to all our energy problems, but they are living in a fantasy world. It's going to take work, a lot of effort combining a lot of small contributions - from wind, solar, biofuels, and especially conservation and nuclear - to make a dent in our reliance on fossil fuels and to begin to combat global warming. If it were easy, we'd have done it already. "

 outdoorsman wrote on December 8, 2007 9:35 am:
" Don't be fooled. Wind turbines are not "green." They are ugly, intrusive structures on the landscape. Drive out I-80 west of Laramie, WY. UGLY! "

 Big Chief wrote on December 8, 2007 11:05 am:
" WCG is partiallyright when he says"You can't store this stuff, not in these quantities". But he should have added , "with current technology". Somebody will come up with a practical and affordable solution. "

 Mark wrote on December 8, 2007 11:21 am:
" Outdoors...I live in Wyoming and this is great. Ever lived here? Windy alot and the turbines are good because all there is out there are antelopes and sagebrush. Nebraska needs to do this to help power more homes and businesses with clean power before there is no more fossil fuels that cost more than one makes. If the nation does not look at clean renewable energy, we might just go back to burning coal in the houses, and that is ugly. "

 country gal wrote on December 8, 2007 1:51 pm:
" It's true that it will take a combination of whatever source of energy works best in each area, whether that's wind, solar, hydro, or geothermal. And just common sense conservation. As for the "looks" of the large turbines, wasn't there just recently an article on vertical turbines in the paper? If there were some type of tax rebates for people who install home sized wind or other energy producing units, I would really believe that the goverment cares about this... "

 over 60 wrote on December 8, 2007 2:44 pm:
" I can only hope that the people trying to sell this idea are not the same folks who are duping the taxpayers on the ethanol idea. I think windpower could be a good thing (unlike ethanol) but if you have to hire a ton of consultants to verify this, the expenditures will outweigh the benefits. Let the energy companies pay for it and charge it back to the users. The state , county, and city needs to stay out of the financing. "

 Power employee wrote on December 8, 2007 3:23 pm:
" Many good posts have been made regarding the wind power potential in Nebraska. Just a few comments need to be made though. The power industry in Nebraska is not against developing this resource. One of the hurdles that we face is that federal subsidies are not available to us as a public power state. (However you need to note that our electric rates because we are public and do not have to pay shareholders are 20% below the national average) Yes Nebraska is a windy state unfortunately on a hot July or August day when the power is really needed the wind is not to be found. And due to the attitude of I do not want them in my area the transmission system (lines) to deliver the power generated is not currently available in many parts of the state. As a company that is dedicated to keep electric rates as low as feasible these considerations have to be taken into account as well. "

 What about the birds wrote on December 8, 2007 4:01 pm:
" wind turines kill a lot of birds and nebraska is in the fly zone for all of the migratory birds. "

 Des wrote on December 8, 2007 7:23 pm:
" Let's keep in mind that the best winds in Nebraska are in Cherry County. South Dakota actually has better wind resources than Nebraska does (I've looked into this in the past). Also, we do not have the power infrastructure to actually deliver this energy at the moment. It would require millions in power line construction. Also, most of these wind turbines would have to be built on private land and would require a lot of legal wrangling over liens and usage rights. And finally, let me guess, this is a project that is going to end up in some out of stater's hands because no one in Nebraska has the money to make it work. Keep in mind that most of our ethanol plants are owned by out of state companies. "

 also wrote on December 8, 2007 8:31 pm:
" Remember wind power must be backed up by traditional generation. Believe it or not the wind does not always blow. So, this increases the cost of electrical rates. It costs money to have backup generation just sitting there. And is really cheap electricity if you need tax dollars to subsidize it? "

 Stuart wrote on December 8, 2007 10:08 pm:
" Wind power is so impractical. Nuclear plants are currently being designed to go well over 1000 megawatts. So if each windmill can only produce 1.5 MW of electricity, that's a lot of windmills to equal the power output of one of these plants... Not to mention the land it would take. "

 keith wrote on December 9, 2007 9:15 am:
" Wind farms step a cross western Ne, into north east Co. 2 new wind farm just went up. Kimball Ne has about seven wind turbines put up about 3 years ago. "

 The Omega Man wrote on December 9, 2007 10:52 am:
" The United States is way behind the curve in the development of wind power. We could substantially increase this form of energy with relative ease. Nuclear power? Until you can figure out how to dispose of the waste it will be a long time coming. But the best way to "increase" power is to use less. American's could easily reduce electrical usage by 10 to 15 percent by changing some of their habits. "

 whatever wrote on December 9, 2007 11:01 am:
" A lot of these posts can be read as "I'm fearful of change", "We can't do it because we are quitters", " Let's not do it because it might be successful". Blah, blah, blah. We can't continue down the road we are on and we can't be creative and successful with "attitude road blocks". I might add Nebraska power districts have spent millions of Natural Gas powered electrical plants. If you look at Natural Gas supply figures and the cost to get Natural Gas anywhere in this country it simply doesn't get any DUMBER. By the logic of some of these posters those plants should never have been built. "

 Burn coal! wrote on December 9, 2007 7:35 pm:
" That's the best answer! PS-I work for BNSF railroad "

 rob g wrote on December 9, 2007 9:56 pm:
" Good post about nuclear energy, it is by far the most efficient and cleanest energy ever developed. Wind power is great as a back up to hydro and nuclear power. Nebraska should make it a goal to rid ourselves of any coal power as soon as we can. "

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