
It was little more than the product of vision, resourcefulness and innovation. It began as an idea — a dream that resided in the minds of a few and eventually evolved into a project of grand proportions.
Its purpose: To bring renewable energy to the Plains and Rocky Mountain regions on a large scale — large, at least, to citizens of the area at that time. The project was to be affordable, yet state of the art. It was to be clean and efficient, yet able to provide needed energy. And, it had to be acceptable to those who operated and lived near it.
The result: The Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) Wind Project at Kimball, Neb.
The MEAN Wind Project at Kimball
The Wind Project at Kimball is owned and operated by MEAN, the wholesale electricity supply arm of NMPP Energy, based in Lincoln, Neb. The 10.5-megawatt wind farm consists of seven turbines and is located approximately three miles northwest of Kimball, in western Nebraska.
The project was created to provide reliable, economical, environmentally friendly energy to MEAN's participating utilities and their customers.
Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns, a long time advocate of renewable energy, said MEAN, NMPP Energy and Kimball embark “on a journey into the future. Together they are taking steps into what will be Nebraska’s energy future: producing an increasing amount of electricity from wind. The Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska and its members are showing that our wind resources can be developed. The steps taken here can lead to tomorrow’s big successes.”
The wind farm provides energy to communities in Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming.