Wind-energy companies sue Missouri county

PLATTSBURG, Mo. -- Several wind-power companies have sued the Clinton County Commission and the Clinton County Planning and Zoning Commission for barring them from building wind turbines as part of a larger project.

Osborn Wind Energy, Osborn Wind II, Boulevard Associates and Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources are seeking unspecified damages, according to the St. Joseph News-Press.

The zoning board and commission voted in September to adopt a recommendation to ban construction of certain wind turbines in the county.

Osborn and Osborn II are involved in creating a wind-energy network in the county, with Boulevard working to obtain lease agreements with property owners for wind-turbine construction.

NextEra said it received a special-use permit six years ago to develop the project. That agreement since has been terminated by the zoning panel.

The lawsuit stated zoning officials and county commissioners "exhibited bias and prejudice against wind-energy projects and plaintiffs' efforts to develop a wind-energy project, and colluded with individuals that opposed wind-energy projects."

Some residents have been opposing turbine construction on the grounds of negative effects to the environment and property values.

"Most people here are not opposed to alternative energy, but we have done our part," DeKalb County resident Kyle Carroll said. "It's time for the wind developers to go someplace else."

NextEra is continuing to build a 97-turbine wind farm near Osborn, Missouri, which is expected to be finished by late November.

A message seeking comment from the county commission was left by The Associated Press.