Green Options

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Nebraska’s location in the U.S. makes it one of the most promising states in terms of wind energy, only it’s been something of an underachiever till now. But the public utility Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) hopes to change that, and has made a move this week aimed at boosting the state’s wind energy production.

NPPD this week signed a contract under which Grand Forks, North Dakota-based National Wind Assessments will set up and monitor 10 60-meter-tall meteorological (met) towers to collect regional wind data and determine which are the best places in Nebraska to put up wind farms. The towers will need to be in operation for about a year before NPPD can make the best decisions about where to locate wind-power facilities.

The small (25,000 pop) South-Central Nebraska city of Hastings, recently captured the title of "America’s Greenest City". Hastings was one of more than 300 communities across the country competing in Yahoo’s "Be A Better Planet", Greenest Cities in America" challenge.

The city received a grand prize of $250,000, and Mayor Matt Rossen told me the community is now planning how to best

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