A collective cheer shook the cold, wet countryside of Goodhue County. In a last minute tantrum filed late this afternoon, Peter Mastic revealed the New Era Wind Farm is no longer seeking to force industrial wind turbines into the rolling farm country of South East Minnesota. The former T. Boone Pickens project is the most contentious in State history, and has become nationally known as a problematic renewable energy project. The project became more divisive after filing the country's first wind project application to obtain an Incidental Take Permit (ITP), in order to slaughter bald eagles without the threat of federal prosecution.
Never popular with the local citizens, the limited early support dwindled to a handful of families. Many local citizens have battled the proposed project for five years. Peter Mastic bought the troubled project from Picken's Mesa Power last October after heading National Wind, the proposed project's first owner and former developer.
After a three-and-a-half-page rant, Mastic finally admits, "New Era has no confidence that due process for this project will ever end, nor that an [Avian and Bat Protection Plan] will ever be approved...".
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Never popular with the local citizens, the limited early support dwindled to a handful of families. Many local citizens have battled the proposed project for five years. Peter Mastic bought the troubled project from Picken's Mesa Power last October after heading National Wind, the proposed project's first owner and former developer.
After a three-and-a-half-page rant, Mastic finally admits, "New Era has no confidence that due process for this project will ever end, nor that an [Avian and Bat Protection Plan] will ever be approved...".
"...In an effort to reach a more practical solution that would...allow New Era to recover at least a portion of its investment, New Era initiated discussions [in December 2012] with [Xcel Energy] to assign its power contracts to a third-party wind project developer and site. ...New Era made a series of proposals... backed by three different project owners.... Each of these projects is sited in a community that is far more receptive to wind energy than is Goodhue."
"[Xcel] chose to reject all of these proposals. ...In its April 12, 2013 letter to New Era, [Xcel] stated that New Era would have 30 days from that date to effect a cure of the power contract defaults....for the remainder of the 30-day period specified by [Xcel], New Era will continue to attempt to complete the assignment and the cure of any and all defaults under the power contracts."
This is the first time citizens have successfully turned back an industrial wind project in Minnesota - a state with one of the strongest mandates in the nation for Big Wind. Given the extraordinary regulatory favoritism and financial largess, the demise of Goodhue Wind/ AWA Goodhue/ New Era is miraculous. Relentless participation by the remarkable people of Goodhue County paid off. Congratulations.
The Coalition for Sensible Siting has been a voice for citizens in this battle to prevent industrial wind devastation in a vibrant rural community with a remarkably diverse and healthy ecosystem.
