| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind Power News: Illinois
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational mission to provide information about industrial wind energy development to readers seeking such information. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law. The original articles, links to which are provided, may have additional links and photos and other media that were not included here.
Department of Energy terminates taxpayer-funded financial assistance for Grain Belt Express
The Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the Loan Programs Office (LPO) has terminated its conditional commitment for the Grain Belt Express Phase 1 project, a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line intended to connect wind and solar capacity across Kansas and Missouri. The conditional commitment, which would have provided a taxpayer-funded loan guarantee of up to $4.9 billion dollars, was issued by the Biden administration in November 2024 – one of many conditional commitments that were rushed out the . . . Complete story »
Wind measurement tower could mean future wind turbine in northwest DeKalb County; Public hearing June 12 in Sycamore
A request by a Lowell, Massachusetts–based company with a Chicago office could mean an altered skyline in northwest DeKalb County, near Clare, according to DeKalb County documents. A public hearing regarding a special-use permit request for a temporary wind measurement tower on property west of Clare Road, between Schafer and Malta roads, will be held at 1 p.m. June 12 in the east conference of room of the DeKalb County Administration Building, 110 E. Sycamore St., Sycamore, according to a . . . Complete story »
States sue Trump administration over federal roadblocks on wind energy, citing economic harm and climate goals
A coalition of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump’s attempt to stop the development of wind energy. Attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., are challenging an executive order Trump signed during his first day in office, pausing approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore. They say Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally shut down the permitting process, and he’s jeopardizing development of a power source critical . . . Complete story »
Local group trying to block wind farm projects in Peoria County
A grassroots group, “No To Peoria County Windmills”, is trying to put a stop to four proposed windmill projects. Farmer Dan Hines tells WMBD’s “Greg and Dan”, the first project, in NW Peoria County, has received DOD/FAA approval for up to 124 windmills that are almost 700 feet tall. “630 (feet) is the St. Louis Arch, so we’d be almost 60 feet taller. And, the props are almost 220 feet, so it’s gonna span about 400 feet,” Hines says. According . . . Complete story »
Windmills no good for land
Look across the farmland from Danville to the Quad Cities. What do you see? Nothing but windmills! Central Illinois has some of the best farmland in the entire world, and look how politicians have decided it should be used. I’m partial to this part of the country since I was born on a farm and lived on a farm nearly all of my life. Piatt County vetoed wind mills by a large majority, but our governor decided that didn’t matter. . . . Complete story »
1 more way the admin’s ‘green’ electricity plan will cost consumers big: 91,000 miles of new transmission lines
For over a decade, there has been a project proposal to build about 800 miles of transmission lines from Kansas through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana to deliver wind-generated electricity to consumers. However, a recent Aug. 8 ruling by an Illinois court halts the planned construction of lines in that state. This project, known as the Grain Belt Express, will need to be replicated about 110 more times across the U.S.—creating up to 91,000 miles of new transmission lines in total—if . . . Complete story »
Erie School Board votes to remove wind turbine after years of disrepair
“I don’t know that it ever worked completely properly.” The Erie School Board voted unanimously to remove its wind turbine at a special school board meeting July 10. The project will begin early next month and was awarded to DW Zinser Demolition of Walford, Iowa for $258,290 and will be paid out of the board’s Capital Projects fund. According to Erie CUSD 1 Superintendent Chuck Milem, the wind turbine was installed in 2005 by Johnson Controls but had problems from . . . Complete story »
Illinois clean energy transition excludes key constituents in energy justice equation, study argues
Illinois has made transitioning to clean energy a major priority in recent years with the passage of the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) in 2016 and the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in 2021. Both pieces of legislation prioritize an equitable transition, aiming to avoid and address historical wrongdoings associated with environmental injustice. However, a recent study, published in Political Geography by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, suggests the state, in attempting to redress historical wrongs, used an overly . . . Complete story »
Wind turbines threaten birds and bats. Developers urged to plan for wildlife.
Terry Husted lives in DeWitt County, a major pathway for migrating birds in central Illinois. After a company submitted plans to construct a wind farm in his area, Husted said he grew worried about the potential for collisions. “The birds hunt, so they focus on the ground and what they’re looking for, and don’t really focus on where they’re going,” Husted said. “So they accidentally hit wind turbines, and it kills them.” Illinois is the fifth-largest state for wind energy, . . . Complete story »
Midwest states taking power to ban wind and solar projects away from local communities
As the number of wind and solar farms increases, so does opposition in the rural areas where they’re being built. While more counties and townships passed restrictions in the last year, some states are responding by passing laws making it harder for local governments to say no to wind and solar. The land in Piatt County in central Illinois is flat, and it’s easy to see for miles around Jerry Edwards’ house in a rural area north of Mansfield. In . . . Complete story »
