WAYNE COUNTY - After years of planning and coordination, an 82-turbine wind farm is fully operational in Wayne County.

The project is the first in Nebraska for global renewable energy company Orsted, and SVP of Orsted Onshore North America Philip Moore says the company chose Wayne County due to the area's compatibility with wind energy.

"It was in the right area of good resources, a local community that embraced wind, outside of environmentally sensitive areas, and near large transmissions with a substation that's by the wind farm," Moore said.

The Plum Creek project began formulating in 2016, with one of Orsted's primary concerns being its completion by 2020. Other challenges included building relationships with landowners and community members, as well as the physical construction of all 82 turbines.

"Can we build that relationship with the community to get the size that we're looking for," Moore said. "The initial idea from some of the local landowners in the community was of a smaller project, but can we put together the pieces of roughly 20,000 acres to build a project that can have 82 turbines on it, which took a lot coordination and support from the local community to get to that point."

"We also found that northeast Nebraska is quite hilly, and that was a challenge in terms of moving all of the equipment to the project area, and having to adjust the roads in many cases in order to accommodate that equipment," Moore said.

The project is set to produce over $3 million in local community benefits annually, with some of the largest beneficiaries being the Norfolk and Winside school districts. Power generated at Plum Creek will also be purchased by a number of national companies, including Vail Resorts, J.M. Smucker Company, and the Avery Dennison Corporation.