NEBRASKA CITY – Otoe County’s write-in candidates for first district board of commissioners are lining up in opposition to wind farms, but outgoing commissioner Jim Thurman said the county is walking a path of economic stagnation if it blocks renewable energy.

Thurman said he expects a planning and zoning subcommittee to recommend regulations that would prohibit a wind turbine closer than a mile from a non-participating land owner.

Thurman: “A mile setback makes it impossible to put a wind turbine farm in Otoe County. There are not enough farmers that own four full miles, to make a rectangular space, that you would have to have for multiple turbines.”

Ernest Chad Neubauer filed as a write-in candidate to defeat Thurman.

He cited environmental hazards of turbines. Considering shadow flickering and noise, he says the county’s existing setbacks of less than a quarter mile are not restrictive enough.

Neubauer: “The setbacks weren’t big enough in my opinion. You could build them pretty close to a residency, far within what the industry – I shouldn’t say the industry – but what folks feel is safe. I mean, we would like to see a one mile setback from any non-participating landowners.

Write-in candidate Charles Cole of Otoe said county regulations should consider the rights of non-participants in wind farms.

Cole: “Back to the zoning and planning board on that. I’m on the subcommittee for that and one of the things we are pushing is non-participants they should have rights too. Not just the guy who wants to sign the contract, but the non-participant that doesn’t want the wind turbine next to him. I own a farm in Otoe County, the last thing I want is a wind turbine. I think there is enough of them in the Midwest.”

Neubauer - Cole 

Neubauer said he is not against renewable energy, but said the county does not have public support for wind turbines.

Cole said Otoe County should not disregard the reality that the federal government has set a goal for shutting down coal-fired power plants.

Cole: Cole: “We have to believe in science a little bit, but at the same token we also have to worry about today. If the government came in tomorrow and told us we had to shut down that coal plant, what would we do for power? We need to work with our local utilities to try and  help them out and right now we have a power plant here in Otoe County and OPPD has a target on their back.”

Thurman said it is no secret that electrical generation is most efficient with users nearby.

Thurman: “We will never have economic development in Otoe County, if we eliminate wind and solar.”

Thurman said even if there is a change of administration in Washington, it will become clear in the years ahead that politics is not in control.

Compared to the cost of a new coal plant, the cost of a solar farm is four times cheaper and the cost of  wind farm is five times cheaper.

Thurman: “Do the rate payers really want to pay four or five times more? It really doesn’t come down to politics. It comes down to the dollar.”

The Otoe County Planning Commission is expected to hear the subcommittee’s proposal this winter.