June 11, 2022
Illinois

Four-hour public hearing & counting: wind turbines

By Nina McFarlane | WMBD | Jun 8, 2022 | www.centralillinoisproud.com

The Tazewell County Justice Center was flooded with concerned citizens, some even listening outside from a TV they brought Monday night.

A public hearing was held about the current ordinance when it comes to building turbines in Tazewell County.

The hearing began just after 5:30 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m. The public was not able to comment due to time restraints. The hearing was adjourned until 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

United Citizens of Tazewell County hopes to amend the current ordinance regarding the construction of wind turbines in the area. The attorney with the group took 90 minutes to go over the current ordinance and identified the areas, they would like to see changed.

One of the representatives from the group, Amber Towle said they want to see the setbacks changed.

“We want to see the distance from our home to a turbine increased. Currently, they are 750 ft away, but in the event of a thunderstorm, you should be 3,250 ft away. This is for public safety,” said Towle.

Towle said they also want to see improvements in sound limits, shadow flickers, and the red flashing lights on the turbines.

Towle said the current ordinance hasn’t been updated since 2009. Towle said the current ordinance is four pages long and the one they are proposing is 18 pages long.

“We are not against the turbines, we just want to see some changes. There is new technology out there, and we just want to make sure we are handling this the proper way. This affects everyone in the community,” said Towle.

On the objecting side, one representative said, “There will be no future wind energy projects in this county if this ordinance is enacted.”

Other representatives mentioned no flicker-related health effects, no support for turbine syndrome, but only an increase in annoyance.

The hearing will continue Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Tazewell County Justice Center.

We will continue to follow the hearing and will have more information on the arguments and claims made.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2022/06/11/four-hour-public-hearing-counting-wind-turbines/