Plum Creek Wind Energy

About the project

The 230-megawatt (MW) Plum Creek Wind project is in Wayne County, Nebraska, and is expected to come online in 2020. It is expected to generate enough renewable energy to power up to 100,000 U.S. homes each year.

Once operational, the Plum Creek Wind project will create high-paying, local jobs and will result in over $3 million in local community benefits annually in the Wayne County area. This includes much needed property tax revenues, with some of the largest beneficiaries being the Norfolk and Windside school districts.

Construction work alone is expected to create approximately 250 temporary jobs and 7-10 high-paying, permanent jobs overseeing operations and maintenance.

The J.M. Smucker Company is the first to sign a long-term power purchase agreement with Lincoln Clean Energy for 60 MW of the 230 MW project.

Name:	Plum Creek Wind
Location:	Wayne County, Nebraska
Capacity:	230 MWac
Annual Production:	Enough to power 100,000 homes
Owner & Developer:	Ørsted
Tax Beneficiaries:	Wayne County, Norfolk and Windside School Districts
Interconnection via:	Nebraska Public Power District
Jobs created during construction:	Approximately 250

SPACER FULL

Did you know?

Recent survey results from Northeast Nebraska residents show:

Over 71% of residents support wind development that creates permanent jobs

Over 76% of residents support wind development that can lead to property tax relief

Approximately 75% of residents think it is important to source electrical power from renewables

More than 75% of residents are likely to support wind if it increases local economic development and provides significant tax revenue

SPACER FULL

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Why Wind?

Wind power is a clean, renewable resource and is one of the fastest growing sources of electricity in the world. Wind turbines can be built on existing farms or ranches to benefit the economies of rural areas, where many of the best wind production sites are found. Farmers and ranchers can keep working their land around wind turbines, as they only use a fraction of the total land area. Farmers and ranchers collect rental payments from wind power plant owners; providing them with additional income and cushioning them from volatile commodity prices.

The U.S. wind sector employed more than 100,000 workers in 2016 and generated an annual economic impact of about $20 billion on the U.S. economy, according to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Over the past 10 years, cumulative wind power capacity in the U.S. increased by an average of 30 percent per year and wind now has the largest renewable generation capacity of all renewables in the U.S.

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Wind energy now has the largest renewable generation capacity of all renewables in the U.S.

Myths and facts

Myth: Wind turbine red lights are a distraction

Fact: The blinking red lights on wind turbines are required to be on at night for air traffic safety by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Plum Creek Wind will work with the FAA to install a radar-activated lighting plan, so the lights on the turbines only turn on when low-flying aircraft are in near proximity.
Myth: Construction of wind turbines creates long-lasting road damage

Fact: To address potential road damage, Ørsted enters into an agreement with the County to maintain the roads and does significant road upgrades during construction. Typically, roads end up at least as good, if not better, than they were before construction.
Myth: Wind farms are noisy

Fact: Wind turbines are quiet. An operating modern wind farm operates at 45-50 decibels, which is the equivalent of a room conversation. The sound turbines produce is similar to a light whooshing or swishing sound.
Myth: Wind turbines decrease property values

Fact: A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study found no evidence that the presence of wind facilities impacted home values. The study was based on 50,000 home sales near 67 wind facilities in 9 states.
Myth: Wind turbines cause sleep disturbance and ringing in the ears

Fact: A report prepared by an independent panel of experts for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection concluded that there is no evidence for health-related issues from exposure to wind turbines.

Testimonials

About Ørsted

Ørsted is a global renewable energy company with operations in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America. Publicly traded since 2016 and headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted develops, constructs, owns and operates offshore and onshore utility-scale wind farms, solar, energy storage facilities and bioenergy plants and provides energy products to its customers. In the United States, Ørsted’s renewable energy portfolio spans technologies and geographies with onshore wind, offshore wind, solar and storage in operation or construction across Texas, the Midwest and Northeast markets. Of Ørsted’s 8GW of global installed capacity, we have 1.3GW of onshore wind in the US with a further 0.8GW under construction. In addition, we have 460MWAC of solar PV and battery storage under construction. By 2025 we aim to have at least 5GW operational onshore capacity across the country. Ørsted has the ambition to be a global green energy major in the rapidly expanding renewable energy market with 30 gigawatts of installed capacity by 2030, enough to power the lives of more than 55 million people.

For more information on Ørsted, visit orsted.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

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Contact us

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