About 12,000 acres are now leased by Renewable Energy Systems Americas, the company interested in developing a 25,000-acre wind energy field in Lyon County.
RES Americas is looking at land in east Lyon County, south and east of Reading, as a potential site for a wind farm to be spread across 25,000 acres. About 2,000 to 3,000 acres of the total would be in Osage County.
RES Amercas officials spoke to about 30 people after a meeting by the Lyon County Planning/Appeals Board Wednesday evening. The board met to amend the Commercial Wind Energy Conversion Systems zoning regulations in Lyon County. After making minor text changes to the zoning regulations, the board adjourned to allow RES Americas officials a chance to talk to the audience and answer questions about the project.
Dave Savage, north central development manager for RES Americas, said the company is considering installing about 87 wind turbines on the 25,000 acres.
Savage said he was glad Lyon County already has wind energy regulations in place for the company to abide by. When asked when Lyon County would see a formal zoning application, Savage said the typical development stage takes about two years and construction takes about one year.
“In an ideal world by October 2011, we will have the wind farm up and running,” he said.
As for a formal zoning application, it could be filed late this year or early next year, Savage said.
A planning-board member asked about the ownership of the wind farm after it is constructed. Savage said the company will be involved in the project from start to finish. Once the project is completed, there is a possibility the wind project could be sold to a utility company.
“The trend in the industry is for utilities to operate the wind farm,” he said.
Savage said RES Americas will sell the wind farm to a utility if one wishes to purchase it. A utility also could buy the power from RES Americas if it choose to go that route.
There were no questions from the general audience about the wind project and the meeting lasted less than an hour. Following the meeting, Savage said there will be more public meetings in the future to address any public concerns and to educate the public about the project.