Zoning investigation finds Sandhills wind farm permit expired
The Cherry County zoning administrator has completed her investigation into a long-debated wind energy project planned for the Sandhills near Kilgore—and has concluded that the project's permit has expired and key requirements were not met.
By News Channel NebraskaVALENTINE, Neb. - The Cherry County zoning administrator has completed her investigation into a long-debated wind energy project planned for the Sandhills near Kilgore—and has concluded that the project's permit has expired and key requirements were not met.
For several years, BSH Kilgore has been planning to build a wind farm roughly 25 miles west of Valentine. While the project received a conditional use permit (CUP) in 2019, it has since faced legal pushback and, most recently, a formal zoning complaint filed with the county.
As News Channel Nebraska previously reported, opponents of the project argue that the company’s CUP expired on Oct. 15, 2024, and that construction should not proceed. The complaint also alleges that the company failed to meet all 12 specific conditions required by the permit and never received approval to begin construction.
Zoning Administrator Jane Stolzenburg investigated the claims and shared her findings in a letter to BSH Kilgore obtained by News Channel Nebraska. After inspecting the property on June 12, 2025, Stolzenburg reported that “no major developments had been completed.” She also confirmed that the permit did, in fact, expire on Oct. 15, 2024.
“In the commissioner minutes, it clearly states the project END date was October 15, 2024,” Stolzenburg wrote, referencing an attached email from the prior zoning administrator to Marvin Planning Consultants, which confirmed the expiration timeline as early as 2020.
Among the 12 conditions outlined in the CUP, several were specifically examined in the investigation:
- Condition #4 required that energy from the project be marketed to the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), with notification protocols in place if production stopped. Stolzenburg contacted NPPD representative Jeb Fischer, who confirmed that no power purchase agreement had been reached. Due to ongoing public controversy, NPPD stated it would not be purchasing energy from the project.
- Condition #8 related to decommissioning funding. Stolzenburg reported no documentation or records verifying that this condition had been fulfilled.
- Condition #11 required the creation of a fire suppression/control plan in coordination with local fire departments, with training costs covered by the applicant. According to Stolzenburg, the Cody, Kilgore, and Valentine Fire Departments confirmed they had not signed off on any plans or received any training related to the project.
- Condition #12 stated that all requirements had to be completed and approved by the Cherry County Board of Commissioners before construction began. Stolzenburg said she found no record of the board formally approving that all conditions were met.