A hearing on a proposed wind farm in Adams County has been delayed a month.
The 150 megawatt Thunder Spirit wind farm would be located northeast of Hettinger. The Public Service Commission had originally scheduled a hearing this Friday. But the company missed last Friday’s deadline to submit its turbine location map. And the Adams County Commission is working on a wind farm ordinance.
Commissioners say postponing the hearing is the right thing to do.
"We're going to make sure the company has given landowners ample time to comment on where the turbine locations are, and that the Public Service Commission doesn't go down there (to Adams County) ahead of the county, giving them time to sort out wat the rules will be," said PSC Chairman Brian Kalk. "The law is such that we don't override local authorities. And I don't think we would ever want to. The time between now and the September hearing should give the company and the county time to figure out whate they want to do."
"The local communities havce a lot of work to do," said Commissioner Julie Fedorchak. "They need to work through these things in a diligent way that gives people enough time to react and respond. These wind farms will be there for 15-20 years, so it's appropriate for the community to take a closer look at make sure they're doing it right."
Thunder Spirit Wind has now filed its proposed turbine locations. The hearing will now be held September 19th at the Adams County Courthouse.
The project's price tag is $300 million.
