Wind Power News: Illinois
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted.
Internet loss halts Farmersville wind generator
Talk about a bad Internet connection.
Operators and engineers at a wind turbine off Interstate 55 near Farmersville said Thursday they hope the blades are turning for good after a weeklong shutdown caused by an interruption of high-speed Internet connections, among other problems.
“This is a pretty high-tech device. We control everything over the Internet,” said David Stuva, president and chief executive officer of the Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, based in Auburn.
Stuva said co-op customers, and the merely curious, have been calling . . .
Zoning Board supports wind farm application
MINONK — A descendant of the original settlers of Worth Township urged the Woodford County Zoning Board on Wednesday to support an application by Navitas Energy Inc., to build a 52-turbine Roanoke Wind farm.
The board unanimously gave its support to the permit without dissent after Wednesday’s public hearing. While supporting the special use permit for the construction of 52 wind turbines generating 100 megawatts of energy, the board added a couple of conditions, including the payment of $10,000 to the . . .
DeKalb may see regulations for wind power
DeKALB – The city is moving forward with creating an ordinance specific to wind energy.
The DeKalb Citizen’s Environmental Commission met Wednesday evening to discuss the possibility of such an ordinance, which would regulate size, design, noise levels and other components of wind turbines that residents and businesses would want to install within city limits.
Members will continue revising the draft ordinance before sending it to either the city’s plan commission, a recommending body, or the city council, which could give direction . . .
Wind turbine restraining order continued to July 14
LIBERTYVILLE — Opponents of a wind turbine adjacent to a residential neighborhood won an extension of a temporary restraining order to keep the turbine turned off until July 14.
“It was a slam dunk for the judge,” said Dave Gates, spokesman for the group Citizens for the Protection of Libertyville, after a hearing Monday morning. They are fighting Aldridge Electric. The company declined comment.
On July 14, the neighborhood group will seek a preliminary injunction to keep the turbine turned off.
“At . . .
Wind turbine to stay off
Libertyville residents who’ve complained about a wind turbine at a local business won a court victory Monday when a Lake County judge issued a second temporary restraining order that will keep the energy generator off for at least 10 more days. The order prevents Aldridge Electric, 844 E. Rockland Road, from reactivating the 120-foot-tall, three-bladed device. Dave Gates, one of the residents who’s been critical of the noise generated by the machine, said a preliminary injunction hearing is set for . . .
Study concludes wind power viable for D432
SOMONAUK — In 2005, Somonauk Community Unit School District 432 established a master plan to guide the district’s future growth. Included in the plan were “green” concepts. Among other practical uses, the concepts would help maintain wetlands on the district’s property. An additional green concept proposed to the plan was the installation of a wind turbine to generate the district’s electricity.
Through a $22,500 grant funded by the Illinois Clean Energy Association, the district hired Ameresco, the largest independent energy solutions . . .
Cover opposing views on proposed wind farms
I want to know why anything to do with wind farms is put as the lead story on the front page of the paper. No one bothers to check the validity of anything these people say. I already proved in previous letters that Mr. Pedroni cannot be counted on to tell the whole truth, and yet anything he says is printed as the truth.
Now he claims property values won’t be affected by wind turbines. He claims two identical properties, one . . .
Committee recommends wind farm moratorium
Just days after the DeKalb County Board approved the county’s first wind farm, its Planning and Zoning Committee will recommend to the full board a three-year moratorium on expansion or new wind farms.
The committee approved the recommendation Wednesday by a 7-1 vote, with John Hulseberg casting the dissenting vote. The committee recommends the moratorium become effective with the issuance of the first occupancy permit.
Hulseberg agreed with the idea of a moratorium, but he wanted a five-year moratorium.
“I don’t like the . . .
Woodford gives Navitas a green light
MINONK — There was little air movement in the hot, stuffy gymnasium of Fieldcrest High School on Wednesday night, but proponents of wind energy won a victory when Woodford County officials unanimously recommended that Navitas Energy be allowed to build a 100-turbine wind farm called Minonk Wind Farm LLC.
Seventy-five turbines would be in Woodford County, and the rest in Livingston County. The wind farm is expected to generate 200 megawatts of electricity annually.
The Woodford County Zoning Board of Appeals basically . . .
Navitas tries to stir up good will in Minonk; Company hosts picnic before wind farm hearings
On the eve of public hearings on its proposal to build two separate wind farms in rural Minonk, Navitas Energy Inc. is hosting a picnic-style open house from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Westside Park pavilion at the corner of Fifth and Washington.
“This is an opportunity for people of the community to see what’s being planned, ahead of the hearings,” said Wanda Davies, head of development for Navitas in the Midwest. “People are encouraged to ask questions and . . .
