Second Nebraska Family Installs Solar in the Path of Keystone XL Pipeline

Solar installed on Diana & Byron “Stix” Steskal family’s Prairierose Farm near Atkinson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 18, 2017
https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1413155236
Contact:
Jane Kleeb, Bold Nebraska, 402-705-3622, jane@boldnebraska.org
Mark Hefflinger, Bold Nebraska, 323-972-5192, mark@boldnebraska.org
Dani Heffernan, 350.org, 305-992-1544, dani@350.org
Jade Begay, Indigenous Environmental Network, jade@ienearth.org


SNIP...Atkinson, NE — On Saturday, September 16th, the “Solar XL” project completed the second installation of solar panels with Nebraska landowners in the path of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline — on the family land of Diana and Byron “Stix” Steskal that they named Prairierose Farm, near Atkinson, NE.

The family partnered with Solar XL project sponsors Bold Nebraska, 350.org, Indigenous Environmental Network, CREDO, and Oil Change International to put renewable energy directly in the pipeline’s path. Solar XL underscores the need to center solutions to climate change while rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline and resisting the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.

***Photos of Solar XL and landowners for download & use with attribution **
https://www.flickr.com/photos/boldnebraska/albums/72157689237546005

The Solar XL project is being supported through an ongoing crowdfunding campaign (See: http://bit.ly/solarxl). The Solar XL panels, which have now been installed in three locations along the pipeline route, serve not only as a form of clean energy, but as a symbol of the urgent need for a just transition away from fossil fuels toward a 100% renewable energy economy. The panels will help power the homes of Nebraskans resisting Keystone XL, and were installed by the family-owned rural solar business, North Star Solar Bears, run by Jim Knopik.

The Keystone XL pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of dirty tar sands oil a day from Canada through Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and then on to the export market. The pipeline would pass through farms, ranches, and Indigenous land, posing a threat to the Ogallala Aquifer and other water sources that would be contaminated by spills and leaks. Landowners continue to fight eminent domain for private gain knowing this would be the first time the Public Service Commission (PSC) grants those powers to a foreign corporation. Lastly, all along the route, local economies are connected to agriculture, and climate change is a serious issue. Keystone XL would significantly add to climate risks for farmers, ranchers and Tribal Nations...SNIP