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"Rumor is not always wrong." Publius Cornelius Tacitus Rumors - we hear rumors.... And we try and track them down, but we're not always able to do so. If you hear a rumor, let us know! And if you know facts about a rumor, let us know that, too! Here are some of our latest... Rumor has it that all the turbine blades in the Mendota Hills wind farm are going to have to be replaced because they're not standing up to wear and tear. We also hear that the bearings that keep the blades turning are wearing out a lot earlier than expected because they were of poor quality to begin with. Keep your eyes open for those big cranes, come to repair the mess! It's a fact that one of the turbines in Mendota Hills was hit by lightning and the blades had to be replaced. Take a look at the pictures below.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has undertaken a study to
determine the impact of utility-scale wind turbines on property values.
In June 2007, the
preliminary results of the study presented at the American Wind
Energy Association's (AWEA) annual meeting showed "No effects found" on
property values.
WIND
FARM APPLICATIONS TO BE REVIEWED
October 5, 2007 by Tony Sapochetti in the Pantagraph
PONTIAC - The possibility of more wind farms in
Livingston County means more work for consultants reviewing
applications for the County Board.
The board is expected to vote Thursday to have Conestoga-Rovers and Associates and law firm Schain, Burney, Ross and Citron, both with offices in Chicago, look at last month's application from Horizon Wind Energy. Texas-based Horizon has proposed a new wind farm in the same areas of Livingston and LaSalle counties already under consideration by another developer, PPM Energy of Portland, Ore. And two more developers are looking at Livingston County sites. The county hired the two consulting firms in July to review the PPM application. "We have already hired them, and if they are competent enough to scrutinize the PPM applications then they are competent enough to scrutinize this application," said John Goembel, vice chairman of the County Board's agriculture and zoning committee. Horizon has submitted an application for Top Crop Wind Farm, which would have about 200 turbines on 18,200 acres in the Cayuga Ridge area near the towns of Blackstone, Odell, Pontiac and Ransom. PPM Energy is looking to build 373 turbines on 36,000 acres in the same areas of Livingston and LaSalle counties. Each wind farm application carries a $25,000 fee, which pays for the consulting work. Neither company has sent a complete application or completed in-depth studies of noise, effects on birds and Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Once complete applications are received, then the process of setting public hearings can begin. Chuck Schopp, Livingston County zoning administrator, said those hearings usually take six weeks to set up, but there is no certain way to determine how long they will take. "Right now, we are expecting it to take multiple nights," Schopp said. "And it can take anywhere from four to 20 nights." Navitas Energy, based in Minneapolis, Minn., is planning the Minonk wind farm, which would have around 100 turbines in Minonk Township in Woodford County and Nebraska Township of Livingston County, according to Wanda Davies, junior project developer for Navitas. Davies said a majority of the turbines will be in Woodford County, but some will be in the Flanagan area. Navitas is still talking with landowners, but she said an application may be submitted by next fall. Joel Link, deputy director of programs and support services for Invenergy LLC, which has offices in Chicago, said his company has secured land and is evaluating the site layout and conducting environmental studies before submitting an application. Link said the project would be built in phases with the first phase having about 100 turbines. The exact number of turbines in continuing phases is yet to be determined. Link also said he would not give out the exact location of the turbines for competitive reasons. Also, a time frame for when Invenergy will submit an application is yet to be determined.
ZONING CHANGE WILL SET PRECEDENT FOR WIND FARMS
Boone County is reexamining its zoning laws, and one group hopes adjustments to the code will clear a path for a new wind farm proposal. The back-and-forth battle for the right to operate wind turbines ended in court this year, when a judge upheld the County Board’s ruling to deny the Heritage Wind Farm project.
September 29, 2007 by Kevin Haas in Rockford Register Star
Boone County’s current zoning code only
allows wind turbines by a special-use permit.
Boone County is reexamining its zoning laws, and one group hopes adjustments to the code will clear a path for a new wind farm proposal. The back-and-forth battle for the right to operate wind turbines ended in court this year, when a judge upheld the County Board’s ruling to deny the Heritage Wind Farm project. The group could bring a proposal back to the County Board, so long as its plans differ from the previously rejected project. Wayne Ward, a member of one of the four families that make up Heritage, said whether a new project goes forth hinges on what zoning laws the county adopts. Zoning code overhaul As it’s written, the proposed ordinance is too stringent to allow for a feasible project, Ward said. He said if the ordinance is adjusted, a new project could emerge. "Until they get those ordinances straightened out, it’s no use. It’s futile," Ward said. The county is working to overhaul its zoning code for the first time since 1984, said Adam Tegen, director of planning for Belvidere and Boone County. "It’s a code that doesn’t work anymore for Boone County," Tegen said. "In 1984, Boone County was a quiet little county with no growth pressure. That’s obviously changed." The current code didn’t address wind power until about five years ago, Tegen said, when it was amended to allow turbines by a special-use permit. But even then, it didn’t give any direction for a potential developer, Tegen said. The massive revamp of county code reaches far beyond wind farms. Public hearings about the dozens of proposed changes are being held by the Zoning Board of Appeals, which will vote on the codes once hearings are concluded. The changes will need approval from the Planning, Zoning and Building Committee and the County Board before becoming law. The proposed code for wind energy rules that turbines must be 2,000 feet from any property not involved in the deal. "The 2,000-foot setback makes it impossible to have anything in Boone County," Ward said. Wallace Ramsay, the man who spearheaded the first wind farm project, presented county officials with a series of objections to the proposed ordinance, including the required distance. Ramsay did not return Register Star phone calls. In 2005, Heritage proposed a 15 wind-turbine project on farmland near Quail Trapp and Ramsay roads. Proponents praised wind energy as a low-cost producer of electricity that will increase the county’s tax base and income for landowners. Project voted down Naysayers said turbines would lower property values, calling them noisy, unsightly and a danger to wildlife and pilots. The project was voted down 8-4 by the county in October 2005. After a judge ruled a new vote must take place because of a "logical inconsistency" at committee level, the board passed the project by a 5-4 vote. A judge then decreed that the meeting was called improperly, and the measure required a third and final vote, which failed 7-4 in July 2006. Judge Gerald Grubb upheld the decision in July. It was not appealed, Boone County State’s Attorney Jim Hursh said.
SECOND WIND
FARM HOPES TO SET UP IN SAME LIVINGSTON, LASALLE AREA
September 28, 2007 by Tony Sapochetti in the
Pantagraph
PONTIAC - Horizon Wind Energy has proposed a
new wind farm in the same areas of Livingston and LaSalle
counties already under consideration by another developer.
The Texas-based company has submitted an application for Top Crop Wind Farm, which would have about 200 turbines on 18,200 acres in the Cayuga Ridge area near the towns of Blackstone, Odell, Pontiac and Ransom. The special-use application to the Livingston County Board says the project would create 250 construction jobs and 30 permanent jobs while generating $3.6 million in direct tax revenue and $1.8 million in landowner leasing and neighbor agreements annually. It is expected to generate enough energy to power 120,000 homes annually. The application also promises the wind farm will not impede growth, development and improvement of surrounding properties, will not endanger public well-being, will have minimal noise emissions and will pose no significant risk against birds. PPM Energy, a wind power company based in the state of Oregon, also filed two applications in Livingston County in July. Bill Whitlock, Horizon director of development for the Top Crop Wind Farm, said it is becoming common for multiple wind farm developers to submit applications for the same land. "This is not unique and this is an issue that is popping up all over the country as good sites become scarcer," Whitlock said. "There is no question that it is possible that turbines from two companies can be on the same land, but it is a bigger issue for the developers than it is for the landowners or the county." PPM Energy is looking to build 373 turbines on 36,000 acres in Livingston and LaSalle counties. Chuck Schopp, Livingston County zoning administrator, said that the Horizon application and a review of public hearings for the PPM project will be discussed at agriculture and zoning committee meeting on Tuesday. ILLINOIS MEDIA OFFER
PERSPECTIVE ON TWIN GROVES WIND FARM
September 26, 2007 by Breanne Parcels in Urbana Daily Citizen
McLEAN COUNTY, Ill. - It's easy to see why the Twin
Groves Wind Farm is a destination for individuals who want to learn
more about industrial-scale turbine operations.
The farm, developed by Horizon Wind Energy, started construction in April 2006 and began operation of Phase I in July. When Phase II is completed in December, the farm will have 240 turbines spread over approximately 21,000 acres of land leased from landowners, according to Horizon's Web site at http://www.horizonwind.com. A bus trip sponsored by the Champaign County Farm Bureau is bound for McLean County today, where participants will tour the wind farm and speak with local officials about its development. Central Illinois media representatives said the proposal for the farm did generate a lot of controversy, but the issue has quieted significantly since Twin Groves began operation. "The companies did everything they were technically supposed to do, but a lot of people were upset," said Beth Whisman of WJBC, a news-talk radio station in Bloomington, Ill. She said it was a hot topic among callers to her local talk show. "People felt like it wasn't fair that they didn't hear about it until the property was already leased or purchased, when they were informed about the public hearings," she said. "It was very heated." Whisman said planning and zoning issues are different in Illinois, where a regional approach is utilized. "Technically the county is in charge, but there is a general community agreement," she said. "Bloomington, Normal and (McLean) county work together." Part of that regional approach is a focus on farmland preservation due to urban sprawl in rural areas, she added. "Some people didn't think it was a good idea to have (the wind farm) there even though the farmers are still farming it," she said. According to Horizon, fewer than 200 acres of land have been removed from crop production. "People are really touchy about property values, and the direct neighbors were concerned about the noise and shadow pollution," Whisman recalled. "Now that the turbines are up, though, we don't hear about it." Whisman said she heard from several callers to her show who responded positively to the "clean power" aspect of wind turbines compared to coal-generated electricity, but other conservationists expressed concerns about the impact of the turbines on bird and bat populations. "It's a question to follow up on," she said, noting that the lights on top of the towers are also a source of distraction to drivers at night. Whisman said she raised the question of the electricity's final destination on her show, but it didn't generate much interest among her listeners. "It goes to the grid, so it's not being used specifically to power this community," she said. "That's something to consider when you have local resources generating that power." Whisman said the farm has had a positive local economic impact. "There are farmers making a lot of money," she said. "My grandfather-in-law was one of those farmers who was offered a lease, and he jumped on it." Twin Groves has generated about 100 jobs locally, which will most likely remain in the community even after the farm is complete, said Gordon Woods, editor of the Clinton Daily Journal newspaper. "Twin Groves is just across the county line, about 10 miles (from the farm)," Woods said. "Trinity Structural Towers, a subsidiary of Trinity Railcar, re-opened a vacant rail car facility in the spring and started full production of turbine towers in July." Whisman encouraged individuals to visit a wind farm in person to get a better idea of the scale of the machines. "They definitely changed the landscape ... but they're not really that intrusive," she said. "They look very clean and streamlined."
WIND FARM PETITIONS RULED INVALID September 16, 2007 by Alice Barr in WFIR A group of Stephenson County residents gather Sunday night to talk wind farms. They say they like their quiet, rural surroundings and they don't want their homes disturbed by whirring, 400-foot tall wind turbines. It's not a new issue. They filed suit to block two wind farms from coming to the county late last year. But now they say the debate has spiraled to new heights. "They've transcended wind farms. They have now hit at a core right and privilege in a democratic society," says Stephenson County resident Mike King. "It could have been five the other way and we would have honored that. But it wasn't," says Stephenson County board member Jeff Mikkelsen. The state's attorney declined to comment but Mikkelsen says signatures were eliminated either because petitioners did not specify their complaints, they were not landowners, or because the names were illegible. Each signature had a phone number attached to it, but the state's attorney did not call to verify any of the names. "I don't understand how they can claim that there aren't enough signatures without making any attempt to investigate," says Stephenson County resident Carol Johnson. Wind farm opponents met Sunday night to discuss whether or not to file yet another costly lawsuit against the county. They say they feel that's their only recourse now. Mikkelsen says legal action is a citizen's prerogative. He adds the board is committed to promoting wind power and many farmers in the county are excited to gain a lucrative turbine. |
