Representatives from NextEra Energy spoke to the Dodge County Commissioners at their meeting May 11 and explained that the company still plans to build the Dodge County Wind Project and will resubmit the permit application in August.

The representatives said the company is attempting to increase the project to 80 turbines which would produce 260 megawatts of electricity. Those would still be located in the same basic footprint as the turbines now planned with the addition of a small expansion to the south in Ripley Township. The new turbines would also be larger. Each is capable of producing 3.4 megawatts. They stand between 500 and 550 feet tall with a rotor sweep of 450 feet.

The company hopes the permitting process will be completed in 12 to 14 months after the application is submitted. During that time, public meetings will be held throughout the region.

If all goes according to plan, installation will begin in the spring of 2023.

Electricity generated from this project would be transmitted along power lines to the Pleasant Valley substation in Mower County.

In January of 2020, the company representatives informed the commissioners that the application to the state Public Utilities Commission for the project had been suspended because of upgrades needed on the infrastructure of the grid operator. That application was for a 170-megawatt project.

The project development began in 2014.

The representatives explained that the project could bring in an estimated $40 million in total tax payments.