PUC public hearings on Dodge County Wind Tuesday in Kasson

Local residents will get a final chance to comment on NextEra Energy’s Dodge County Wind project at two in-person meetings and one remote meeting next week.
The Minnesota Public Utility Commission has scheduled the in-person meetings for 1 and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19, at Saker’s Sports Bar & Grill, 401 8th St. SE, Kasson. A remote meeting has been scheduled for 6.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20. Interested parties will have an opportunity to comment on NextEra’s requests for a Certificate of Need, a Site Permit, and a Route Permit, for the project that will include the construction of 79 wind turbines capable of generating up to 252 MW of electricity. The majority of the turbines will be located in the western portion of Dodge County in the Claremont area, while there will be a few turbines in Steele County. The transmission lines carrying the electricity generated will go to the Pleasant Valley substation in Mower County.
The meetings will start on time and those attending the in-person meetings should arrive a few minutes early to have time to pick up materials and find a seat. Citizens will have an opportunity to offer oral and written comments into the record.
Staff from the PUC, the Department of Commerce, and Dodge County Wind, LLC will be available to answer questions about the project and review process. The same information will be offered at each hearing and they will continue until all individuals who wish to speak have an opportunity to do so.
Comments received during the meeting and during the comment period afterwards will be entered into the record to help PUC Commissioner make their final decision.
For the remote meeting, the telephone number is 1-855-282-6330. The web address is https://minnesota.webex.com. The event password, if needed, is WvJpNKeZ328. The access code is 2492 910 8330.
Individuals joining the meeting by WebEx who would like to ask a question or make a comment should use the chat function to send a message to the meeting moderator. Those joining the meeting by phone should press *3 on the phone. When it is you turn to speak, you line will be unmuted and you can ask a question or make a comment. Additional information and instructions are available at https://gov/puc/activities/meetings/webex/.
Written comments will be accepted through 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2024. When making a written comment, include the docket numbers in all communications. Docket numbers are:
IP6981/CN-20-865 (Certificate of Need)
IP6981/WS-20-866 (Site Permit)
IP6981/TL-20-867 (Route Permit)
The PUC is expected to make a final decision on the project early in 2024 with construction to start thereafter.
The electricity generated will be used by co-operatives that are part of Great River Energy, including Steele-Waseca Co-op that serves a portion of Dodge County.
Dodge County Wind is projecting that the project will bring more than $750,000 in annual tax payments to Dodge County and more than $50 million in direct landowner payments over 30 years of the project.