Click here for updates on this story
JEFFERSON, WI (Wisconsin State Journal ) — A controversial Green County wind farm — one of only a handful under development in Wisconsin — has been scrapped.
EDF Renewables had planned to build 24 turbines in the town of Jefferson near the Illinois border. It would have been the sixth-largest in the state, with a capacity of 65 megawatts.
Participating landowners received letters in September notifying them that the developer, EDF Renewables, was terminating its lease agreements.
Sandi Briner, vice president of corporate communications for the developer, confirmed in an email that the project had been canceled, but did not say why.
“Unfortunately, the nature of development doesn’t always cooperate, and the project is no longer viable,” Briner said. “Therefore, we felt it was best to release the lease and agreements associated with this wind project in order to facilitate pursuit of future opportunities to continue development of their land.”
Green County board chairman Arthur Carter, whose property abuts a parcel that was slated to host a turbine, said he received a personal letter from EDF, though the county had not received any official notice.
“It’s basically done,” Carter said. “That’s I think all anybody got.”
The project was expected to generate about $250,000 a year in tax revenue for the town and county in addition to some $300,000 a year in rent for participating landowners.
It also generated opposition from some residents who feared it would affect property values, health and views.
In June, the Public Service Commission denied a request to stop the project.
A group of 56 people who live or own property within the 5,870-acre project area but did not have leases with the developer appealed the county’s approval, arguing that the county continued to gather information even after declaring the application complete and holding a public hearing.
An attorney who represented the group before the PSC said Friday he had not heard anything about the project’s cancellation.
The project is one of just a handful of wind farms under development in Wisconsin, which has only a fifth the wind energy capacity of Minnesota and has had only one utility-scale wind farm built since 2011.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.