Dorchester Times: How Much Do You Know About The Saline County Wind Farm?

Sunday, September 8, 2019

How Much Do You Know About The Saline County Wind Farm?

The Friend newspaper reports that a six-month moratorium for a proposed wind farm project in west-central Saline County was discussed at a recent county commissioners meeting.

According to the story, the request was brought forward by Sandra Koll of Wilber and Gary Veprovsky of Dorchester, who would like additional regulations established before construction continues. Some of those desired regulations include FAA approved lights on top of the turbines and sound level restrictions.

No action was taken on the request because of litigation filed against Saline County last month. According to court documents, Marilyn Capek of Massachusetts sued both the county and EDF Renewables -- the project developer -- in late July for approving a right-of-way approved on property she owns within the county.

The story notes that county attorney Tad Eickman advised the board to not take any action until legal matters can be resolved.

Wind projects have always been controversial. This one in Saline County appears to be reaching a boiling point.

The map aboved, published by EDF Renewables, shows the wind farm would be well south of Dorchester and Friend, but it would certainly be visible from Milligan and Pleasant Hill.

The proposed wind project, known as "Milligan 1 Wind," would be a $350 million investment in Saline County. The 300 MW wind farm would supposedly generate clean energy for more than 100,000 homes, boost the local economy with millions in new spending, produce $45 million in total tax revenue, and create more than 200 jobs -- all while sustaining 150 small family farmers and landowners with stable lease payments of more than $50 million over the life of the project.

The project is planned to begin operation in late 2020.

While it's true Nebraska is a windy state and landowners could use extra revenue, legitimate questions have been raised about this project, such as:

Would anyone ever build a residence near a wind farm?

What happens if wind becomes unviable and the turbines are abandoned?

Wouldn't solar be a better option since solar farms make no noise, aren't visible for miles, and require more land (meaning bigger payments for landowners)?

What are your opinions on the project? Leave your thoughts in the "comments" section.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Village Dweller checks all reader comments to determine if they are appropriate for print.

Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."