Invenergy Presents More Than $511,000 To Supervisors

Check Presentation - (from left) Prairie Breeze Wind Energy Center Operations Manager Luke Hinkle, Eddie Schindler, Jerald Schwager, Neil Wiliby, Charlie Henery, Leroy Kerkman, Prairie Breeze Developer Emily Kobylarczyk and Merlin Bolliing.

Invenergy presented a $511,597 check to the Antelope County Supervisors on Tuesday morning.

To mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the operation of the Prairie Breeze Wind Energy Center, Operations Manager Luke Hinkle and Developer Emily Kobylarczyk presented a check to the Antelope County Board of Supervisors during their meeting in Neligh.

The wind farm, which is part of Invenergy out of Chicago, also presented a check to the Boone County Commissioners in the amount of $103,146.

In a press release prior to the presentations, Invenergy stated, 

"We’re proud to be a contributing community member, and we appreciate the community’s support for our wind farm."

Since May 4, 2014, the date the wind farm was commissioned, through December 31, 2014, Prairie Breeze Wind Energy contributed $392,556 in nameplate city taxes, and $119,041 in 2014 property taxes, for a total payment of $511,597 to Antelope County. 

The company contributes more than $3 million annually to area’s economic development, through property tax payments, staff salaries, and landowner payments, and is one of the largest taxpayers in Antelope and Boone Counties.

The company is currently constructing the Prairie Breeze Wind Energy Center Expansion Project, consisting of two phases: Prairie Breeze II, which commenced in March of this year, with 13 turbines in Boone County and 28 in Antelope County, and the Prairie Breeze III wind farm, which will begin construction this summer and have 20 turbines in Antelope County.