NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE: Bill Targeting Wind-Energy Projects Stalls
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A bill that would have made it harder to install new wind-energy farms in Nebraska has died in the Legislature.
Lawmakers voted 23-8 Wednesday in favor of the bill, two votes shy of the simple majority needed to advance it.
The bill would have barred Nebraska’s public power organizations from using eminent domain to install transmission lines for use by privately developed wind-energy farms. Opponents say it would have stifled wind energy development in Nebraska.
The bill was introduced by state Sen. Tom Brewer, of Gordon, whose rural district includes a vast swath of north-central and western Nebraska.
Many of Brewer’s constituents are fighting a proposed transmission line that would cut through their area. They also fervently oppose wind turbines in the Sandhills, a scenic region of grass-covered sand dunes.