- Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana have hundreds of underground nuclear missiles.
- The Air Force said it was unable to build wind turbines within a 2-mile radius of the missiles.
- The scope of a wind turbine project in Banner County, Nebraska, has been limited due to underground missiles.
In Banner County, Nebraska, remnants of America’s Cold War are buried beneath the surface.
It began in the 1960s when the United States entered into a nuclear standoff with the then Soviet Union Plant hundreds of nuclear missiles Travel through rural areas across the country such as Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana in case they need to be shot into enemy camps at a specific moment.
Now, those missiles are preventing the region from harnessing its most precious resource: strong winds.
Flat Water Free Press, an independent news outlet in Nebraska, report Last week, in 2019, the U.S. Air Force began blocking a wind turbine project in Banner County in the state’s southwest.
two renewable energy companies, energy and Orion Renewable Energy Group, has listed Banner as its “world-class style”, the Pingshui Free Press reported. They are going to build 300 turbines in the area.
Each turbine will generate an additional $15,000 in annual income for the landowner who built the turbine. Funds for the turbines will flow into Banner’s school system and revitalize the 625-person county.
But the Air Force argues that the turbines would pose a “significant safety hazard” to pilots — especially during a storm or snowstorm. The Air Force decided that the turbines needed to be built 2.3 miles from each other to ensure pilots had enough room to land without digging the wheels into the missiles. Until then, a quarter mile between each turbine will suffice.
“New guidelines explained to residents earlier this spring have drastically reduced the number of turbines that could be built.”
Banner residents are frustrated and disappointed by the Air Force’s new guidelines. “The resource is there and ready to use,” said one Banner landowner. ” “How do we get rid of it?”
