Land use committee review of county ordinance hits again on turbine curtailment

CLINTON — As the county’s land use committee continued Monday reviewing its wind energy ordinance for possible changes, committee members circled back to the topic of the June 29 tornado warning.

During a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado warning that followed, wind turbines operated by Enel Green Energy continued to rotate.  Under Enel’s agreement with DeWitt County, operators are required to curtail turbines during such warnings, i.e. slow or stop the turbines’ rotation to prevent potential interference with weather service radar.

An Enel spokesman later told the Clinton Journal Alta Farms II turbines were “inadvertently not curtailed.”  He said the company took immediate action to prevent the oversight from reoccurring.

• Read the complete story in the Friday, Aug. 18 print edition of the Clinton Journal or now in the Journal E-Edition for subscribers.