Commission Votes Against Wind Project Agreements

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By Echo Menges

Edina, MO – Monday, October 17, 2022 – The Knox County Commission voted down a proposed resolution for the NEMO Wind, LLC, project including three negotiated contracts – a development agreement, a road maintenance agreement, and a decommissioning agreement.

The Commission accepted a final round of written public comments with a deadline of Friday, October 14, at noon.

By the deadline, the Commission received the highest amount of public support of the agreements to date, which included 69 post card mailers signed by 31 different citizens, along with four letters of support signed by five different citizens.

In opposition of the agreements, the Commission received nine letters signed by 16 different citizens.

The resolution was brought to a vote by Presiding Commissioner Evan Glasgow on Monday morning. Both Eastern District Commissioner Ronnie Leckbee and Western District Commissioner Luther Green voted against the resolution.

The meeting was well attended by citizens for and against the project.

According to both Leckbee and Green, it’s not over. And, this does not mean the project agreements cannot go forward. Another vote could be held to approve the agreements as early as next week.

“We are disappointed in the outcome of today’s meeting. The agreements were negotiated over the course of more than two years and are robust in protecting the community,” said Tim Vought, Senior Director of Development for NEMO Wind, LLC. “We are going to evaluate our next steps and the continued advancement of the project.”

“Over the course of the past few years, the Knox County Commission has engaged in significant due diligence and obtained input from the community and various stakeholders in order to consider and negotiate agreements with Northeast Missouri Wind, LLC, relating to the proposed wind energy project that seeks to protect the interests of the taxpayers and residents of the county,” said Travis Elliott, Legal Council for the Missouri Association of Counties. “Through these agreements, the Commission has attempted to address the various components of the proposed project with the developer associated with, among other issues, construction, set backs, light, flicker, and sound, road use improvements and repairs, liability, and decommissioning of the project.”

A recorded live stream video of the wind project agreement portion of the Commission meeting is available on the NEMOnews and Edina Sentinel Facebook pages. That video will also be made available on YouTube via edinasentinel.com.