Updated July 3, 2019; 1:10 p.m.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — NextEra has filed an appeal of the decision by the Reno County Commission in regard to the protest petitions they received protesting the wind project proposed to be built south of Haven.

Next Era or Pretty Prairie Wind LLC., had sought a conditional use permit to build the wind farm in zoned and unzoned areas of the county.

After approving the protest petitions, the Reno County Commission voted 2 to 1 for the project to move forward, however, because the county accepted 46 percent of the petitions it received, it needed a unanimous vote which did not happen.

NextEra claims in its lawsuit that some of the petitions are not valid due to the method in which they were acquired. They also argue that many of the names on the petitions have illegible signatures with no printed name to verify their identity. Others they say were signed ny individuals that differ from the recorded property owner, are signed by an individual on behalf of a business entity or trust with no evidence they were authorized to do so. They also note some had inaccurate descriptions of the property seeking to protest the application or were signed prior to the Reno County Planning Commission hearing or prior to the planning commission closing that hearing.

All these should be dismissed according to the civil suit.

NetxEra wants to build an 83 turbine wind farm in southeast Reno County.

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — NextEra has filed an appeal in regard to the protest petitions that were against the wind project.

NextEra claims in the appeal that some of the petitions are not valid due to the method in which they were acquired. The hope is to eliminate enough petitions that a simple majority vote is needed to approve a conditional use permit for the project.

NextEra had 30 days to file the appeal after a resolution was passed by the County Commission indicating that the permit failed to pass because a 3-0 vote was needed.
That unanimous vote was necessary because of the number of protest petitions that were filed.

The appeal is not a surprise to anyone and some feel that this matter will go a long way through the court system before any resolution is seen.

NetxEra wants to build an 83 turbine wind farm south of Haven. The project has been met with both opposition and support.