NG North America outlines plan to remove 100 turbines, repower Prairie Hill wind project in Limestone County

Russ Keane, a representative of NG North America, told the Limestone County Commissioners Court that the company will decommission the existing Prairie Hill wind array and repower it with fewer, larger turbines intended to restore the project’s authorized 300 megawatts.

"We will replace those 100 turbines starting later this year and throughout '27 with 63 bigger, more powerful turbines," Keane said, describing the company’s plan to remove outdated equipment and install larger 4.8-megawatt machines that require new foundations and larger setbacks.

The company said the existing Imperial/Prairie Hill project had underperformed since its inception and that a technical and commercial solution required taking down the old units and installing new ones in different foundation locations. John Fournier, the project business lead, said the original project has paid about $11 million in property taxes to date and that NG projects the new installation would contribute roughly $105 million in property taxes over a 30-year operating life.

NG and its contractors described the demolition and recycling approach in detail. "We will use explosives to fell the towers," Cody Earl, chief executive of Destructible, the selected decommissioning contractor, said. He explained crews will cut and shred metal components for scrap and send fiberglass blade material to processing in Emerald, Texas, where it will be shredded indoors and diverted from landfills.

Project manager Josh Paulette said Destructible began preliminary site work and fluid-draining operations and that full turbine removal would proceed over roughly six months. He said rebuild contractors were still being selected and that civil work, roads and foundations would begin once mobilization occurs — tentatively this summer — with turbine deliveries and final construction expected to carry into 2027.

NG said it has coordinated with the sheriff’s office and emergency services, will provide public notifications, and plans a project website and weekly updates to inform residents of scheduled felling. Keane invited local officials and emergency personnel to observe an early, nonpublic test felling and said the company expects to hold more public-facing events later in the project timeline.

Commissioners raised operational concerns including road‑use agreements to handle heavier truck traffic during demolition and rebuild, and asked the company to confirm the structure of its existing pilot tax agreement so the county will not lose tax revenue during any gap between demolition and repowering. Fournier said the company would double-check compliance with minimum megawatt thresholds and follow up with specifics.

The company also described local contributions: Keane said NG and its contractors have made modest philanthropic donations in the region, and Fournier highlighted the project’s school-district tax support. No formal vote or permit decision was required of the court during the presentation; the session recorded the briefing and follow-up questions and commitments.

The court recessed regular business after the presentation and proceeded to additional agenda items.