Agreements filed in Republic County give details of wind farm contributions, rules

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Four agreements have been filed with Republic County by NextEra Energy Resources regarding the proposed High Banks Wind Project. The wind farm, which extends slightly into the far western part of Washington County, was originally proposed as a 604-megawatt wind energy project. According to the agreements, turbines in Republic County will produce 559 MW of power.

Agreements haven’t been released yet for Washington County, and while 45 MW is the difference between the original proposed total and the announced Republic County megawatt total, NextEra has consistently said the number of wind turbines and their locations could change up to the point of construction.

The four agreements filed with Republic County include a development agreement, road use agreement, decommissioning agreement and contribution agreement. They are public documents and can be found on the main landing page of the Republic County website, at www.republiccounty.org.

The contribution agreement is the first specific account of potential revenue for the county. It details an initial contribution to Republic County of $932,201.86 and annual contributions of $745,758.14 per year for 10 years. Washington County details are not noted in the Republic County agreements.

The contributions have become a standard expectation in wind farm development, since wind farms have a 10-year property tax exemption in Kansas.

According to the agreement, each county may direct each contribution to any taxing jurisdiction, general county fund, or specific fund or funds as may be directed by the county from time to time.

NextEra lists its reason for making the contribution in the agreement, which is to “Demonstrate good citizenship by making a commitment to: (1) assist the county in improving and maintaining a physical, business and social environment benefiting all members of the community, and (2) contribute to the county for potential impacts of the Wind Project within or upon the county by making contributions to the county.”

The initial contribution would be made within 30 days of the start of construction. Then, annual contributions would be made by Jan. 1 of each year once the wind project achieves commercial operation, totaling 10 annual contributions.

The agreement also includes a one-time payment of $100,000 after commencement of construction, to be distributed by the county for the benefit of the local fire districts and fire departments which serve the wind project area. The development agreement consists of such topics as setbacks, sound restrictions, turbine requirements and lighting details, including a plan to integrate the aircraft detection lighting system (ADLS) with the turbines, which allows the red lights on each turbine to stay off unless an aircraft is within range (upon approval by the FAA).

Because of the few turbines located in Washington County, the effort locally has basically followed the lead of Republic County, which contains the grand majority of the wind turbine presence.