7:31 AM

New wind farm in NE Nebraska nearly ready

Posted: Thursday, January 1, 2009 12:00 am

BLOOMFIELD, Neb. (AP) - The largest wind farm in Nebraska is nearly ready to generate power.

But the 80-megawatt Elkhorn Ridge wind farm north of Bloomfield won't begin commercial operation until sometime during the first three months of 2009.

Edison Mission Group Inc. is building the wind farm and will sell electricity to the Nebraska Public Power District.

Edison spokeswoman Susan Olavarria (OL-uh-vehr-EE-uh) says all the turbines are up, but testing is still being completed.

Olavarria says investigators don't believe an early December fire at the wind farm that injured three workers was caused by a mechanical or electrical problem. She says the investigation, which isn't done, suggests a foreign object blew into the turbine that caught fire.