More than two dozen Reno County residents asked the County Commission Tuesday to impose a 12-month moratorium on development of commercial wind farms in the county.
However, officials with NextEra Energy – which is in the midst of developing a 220-megawatt wind farm in the southeast quadrant of the county – warned that a moratorium would kill the project.
The company is willing to work with the county in developing a contract that would set specific restrictions on development, including greater setback distances, a couple of representatives of the company assured the commission.
But the project, which has been in the works almost three years, must be under construction by next year to meet contractual agreements with the company that will buy the power generated by the development or it will not proceed, NextEra spokesman Sam Massey advised.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)