A battery storage project and bids for a new gravel trailer made up Tuesday morning's meeting of the Wayne County Commissioners.
David Levy, representative of NextEra and its Sholes Wind Farm, spoke to the board about an upcoming project set for 2025. The farm is located on 858th Road.
Levy said NextEra plans to build a battery storage area on the west side of the current yard. The new build allows the company to "store energy and make the wind farm more effective and efficient," Levy said.
The investment will total around $68 million.
He also explained the new build will increase property tax revenue over the first seven years, bringing in about $700,000.
An array of storage containers will house the batteries onsite and each container will have its own cooling systems. Construction will start around spring of 2025, Levy said.
Following Levy, Highway Superintendent Kyle Huff presented the board with bids for a new gravel trailer for District 2. The lower of two bids came from Iowa Trailer Manufacturing, Storm Lake, Iowa, for $62,425. The truck will be delivered to the area in June.
Huff also discussed electrical and heating bids for the Carroll Shop, which resides in Commissioner Dean Burbach's District 2.
The bids included:
-Skokan (Winside) offered a bid of $35,748.66 for electrical and $13,889.97 for heat.
-Zach Heating (Wayne) provided a bid of $10,185.91 only for heating.
-Beiermann Electric (Wayne) gave a bid of $25,250 only for electrical work.
A decision was tabled until the next Commissioner meeting to give Huff and Burbach time to look into each company.
Huff ended with a few updates on bridge projects.
The meeting's agenda ended with updates on Allo services for county sheds.
In District 1, all sheds and county buildings will move to Allo. No timeline has been set yet as plans are still in discussion.
The next meeting of the Wayne County Board of Commissioners will be held on Tuesday, April 16 at 9 a.m.
