Company puts plan on hold after experiencing difficulty in obtaining land lease.
A proposed wind farm in Scipio is no more.
Timothy O'Leary, communications manager with Shell WindEnergy in Houston, said the plan has been suspended.
"We continue to have an interest in developing this project and appreciate the support we've received from many people in the county for this proposed project. There are however, many variables in developing wind projects, not the least of which is securing land," O'Leary wrote in an e-mail.
Town Supervisor Keith Batman and the owner of the land Shell needed for the project both backed up O'Leary's statement.
The company had planned to put up two to four temporary towers to take wind measurements, with the hopes of building a wind farm in the future.
One tower was installed on Skillet Road, but negotiations over a land lease with owners of the Allen farm stalled.
Farm owner Duane Allen said Shell did not provide his family with enough details on how the wind farm would be installed, or the impact it would have on his farm.
The Allen family farms about 2,800 acres for dairy and cash crops. About 1,200 of that would have been part of the lease, said Allen.
Allen said he would still be open to discussion with Shell if the company would provide him with a better idea of its plan.
"They couldn't tell us where they were going to put anything," he said. "I just can't sign over that land and let them come in and do whatever they want, without any information."
Batman said he was disappointed the wind farm proposal appears to be dead.
"I think that it was a great opportunity for the town and for the region," he said. "It's a type of thing that we need to be doing."
Batman and the town board had put together a wind farm advisory committee to research if a wind farm would be good for Scipio. The committee met for the first time July 22 and was eager to begin its work.
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