VALENTINE, Neb. — A proposed wind farm near Kilgore has landed back in court after its developer, BSH Kilgore, filed a lawsuit against Cherry County. The company is challenging county findings that its conditional use permit (CUP) has expired and that it failed to meet all 12 conditions tied to the project.

BSH Kilgore received the permit in 2019 for a wind energy project about 25 miles west of Valentine. Since then, the project has faced multiple legal challenges and, more recently, a zoning complaint. After investigating, the county zoning administrator determined the permit expired on Oct. 15, 2024, and that the company had not complied with all requirements.

BSH Kilgore contested those findings, but the Cherry County Board of Adjustment voted to uphold the zoning administrator’s investigation.

“While we would much rather work collaboratively with Cherry County, the Board of Adjustment has, unfortunately, left us with no alternative,” said Michael Knapp, BSH Kilgore’s Senior Vice President of Operations. “Exercise of our conditional use permit is a fundamental property right, and the Board of Adjustment has acted to revoke this right without basis in law. The fact that the council members did not take the time to state reasons for their votes, until after they voted, further underscores the procedural deficiencies.”

The company insists it has met all permit conditions, arguing that construction delays were caused by more than three and a half years of prior litigation. In an email to News Channel Nebraska, BSH Kilgore said those delays should “equitably toll” the development deadlines, a claim it says was previously acknowledged by the county’s own legal counsel.

Opponents counter that equitable tolling may apply in other states, but not under Nebraska law.

The company has also criticized the zoning administrator for issuing the initial letter without contacting them first, calling the assertions “factually inaccurate and unsupported by the public record.”

One permit condition required county commissioners to approve all requirements before construction began. BSH Kilgore says it submitted documentation last October to show compliance with all 12 conditions, which commissioners did not formally dispute. Still, two of the three commissioners stated at the time that they believed conditions had not been met. Because the matter was listed only for discussion, no action was taken.

At Tuesday’s county board meeting, County Attorney Eric Scott noted that in some cases inaction could be considered approval. Commissioner Nina Nelson questioned that.

“Was there an approval by us? The answer was no,” Nelson said.