The Bureau County Board and a wind farm company could be headed to court over road repairs the county claims the company is responsible for, following its work at Providence Heights wind farm in rural Tiskilwa. Following a closed session Tuesday, the county board voted to take legal action in an apparent attempt to force wind farm company Iberdrola Renewables to comply with a county road agreement.

A wind farm could be coming to the area if a proposed project by the Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency continues to progress. The proposal of the joint-action agency is for the Eagle View community wind project, a set of wind turbines that might be located in the Rochelle area. Rochelle Municipal Utilities General Manager Gary Larsen said the proposed project includes up to eight wind turbines that would be located near IL Route 64, west of IL Route 251, near the Village of Kings.

I have three notebooks full like this" says Peggy Whitney. Whitney has done her research on wind farms. And from what she's found, she doesn't want them anywhere near her home. "They all come to the same conclusion these can cause dizziness, nausea, increase in migraine headaches" says Whitney.

Lincolnshire officials expect to extend a temporary ban on the construction of wind turbines and other alternative-energy generators, Mayor Brett Blomberg said. The moratorium was enacted in June with a four-month life span. ...The moratorium was enacted to allow village staffers to study the pros and cons of alternative energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar panels, and to draft a policy governing their use.

The Edgar County Board tabled action on a Wind Energy Conversion System Ordinance at a meeting Wednesday morning. The goal of the ordinance is to protect county and township infrastructure during the building of giant towers that convert wind power into electricity. Board member Dan Winans has mostly worked alone to create the ordinance by borrowing from existing ordinances in neighboring counties.

Officials with a Houston-based wind-energy company have applied for a special-use permit to make way for the first phase of a massive wind farm spanning from Gibson City to Sibley to near Elliott. The Ford Ridge Wind Farm is targeted for construction late next year or in early 2011, said Roger Brown, business developer for BP Wind Energy North America Inc.

The McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals will have a public hearing Oct. 19 on a request for a special-use permit that would allow Twin Groves Wind Farm to expand by as many as 333 turbines. Horizon Wind Energy LLC and its affiliates want to generate 500 megawatts of power with the turbines that would be located on 38,248 acres in Towanda, Blue Mound, Martin and Anchor townships.

Community Unit School District 300's plan to invest in a wind farm as part of a consortium of school districts from across the state is more than just hot air. Now that plan has $44,000 behind it. The D300 Board of Education voted Monday to approve Phase I of its School Wind Consortium plan, which would create the first wind farm owned by such a consortium in Illinois.

Lawyers for the Village of Lee are asking a judge to examine how court summons were served to village board members who are being sued for rejecting a request by an energy company to build six wind turbines near the village. ...The document filed Wednesday asks a judge to investigate who was involved in filing the lawsuit and serving the summons. The document also asks a judge to throw the lawsuit out because it was filed improperly.

Gurnee has become the most recent community to take pause on wind and solar power. The village board this week in a 5-0 vote decided to impose a nine-month moratorium on wind turbines, solar panels and other such devices. Like other communities, the village anticipates an influx in requests to use wind turbines or solar energy devices, be it for commercial or individual use, and wants to make sure guidelines are in place to deal with issues such as size, noise and "shadow flicker."

There was a big debate over an amendement to Winnebago County's wind farm ordinance, but in the end, the zoning board passed it. That amendment allows people or companies to submit applications to install wind farms in the county. It makes wind farms permitted use, which means there's no public hearing before an application is approved.

The Village of Lee has filed a motion asking that a judge dismiss a lawsuit filed against them by a company that wants to build wind turbines near their borders, and the law firm representing the village of just over 300 people on the western edge of DeKalb County says the village plans to "vigorously" defend against lawsuit by the company building a wind farm mostly in southwest DeKalb County.

Sept. 16, members of the Winnebago County Board Zoning Committee pored over minutiae in a 15-page proposed text amendment to the county's zoning ordinance that would open the door to commercial wind power generation in the county. Because the wind industry has yet to blow into Winnebago County, no rules exist to govern them. The measure was first proposed in April by Minneapolis-based Navitas Energy, Inc.

The rural townships in southwestern DeKalb County are a hubbub of activity, with 485 men and women on site. Crews are working six days a week, from sunrise until after sunset. That's because it takes 13 semi-trucks to bring in all of the components for a single turbine, Palmer said. And roads that regularly see a dozen or fewer vehicles a day are carrying hundreds of heavy trucks.

A growing dispute between Bureau County and the owners of one local wind farm may bring both parties to court if an agreement isn't reached soon. According to county officials, Iberdrola Renewables - owner of the Providence Heights wind farm in Milo and Indiantown townships - is in violation of its roads agreement with the county.

A company that wants to build six wind turbines within the Village of Lee's jurisdiction is suing the village board, saying members improperly denied construction permits after an Aug. 31 public hearing. The complaint, filed by FPL Energy Illinois Wind, LLC in DeKalb County Court, says the Lee village board "arbitrarily" denied the company's application for permits and demands a judge compel approval of the permits and allow construction to move forward.

Training and equipment for specialized rescue will be needed by at least one fire department if a wind turbine farm is built in western Boone County. Advance Fire Chief Jim Caldwell said Thursday, Sept. 10, his 35-man department hasn't equipment for "high-angle" and trench rescues, nor are all of his personnel trained in those specialties. David Cook, an AFD captain, had said at a wind forum seminar last week that he thought wind farms would "destroy the community."

Kentucky Utilities Co. intends to purchase wind power from northern Illinois and will soon ask state regulators to charge home customers about a buck a month more to pay for that alternative energy. The wind power, including the cost of transmitting the electricity to Kentucky, is about twice as much as it costs KU to generate power by burning coal at power plants. To pay for the wind power, KU plans to file an application with the Kentucky Public Service Commission, requesting permission to impose a "renewable resource clause" so it can recover the costs of purchased wind power and transmission costs.

Some Woodford County Board members are attempting to unseat the chairman of their Zoning Board of Appeals for what they say is his less-than-professional public behavior. By a 5-0 vote Tuesday, the county's Conservation Planning & Zoning Committee sent the message they have no confidence in Bob Harbers.

The Village of Shabbona will be holding two public hearings in the next month regarding a wind farm. In the fall of 2008 the village board adopted an ordinance to regulate wind turbines within a 1.5 mile radius of the village, according to a written statement from Shabbona officials. The board also adopted a resolution specific to a proposal by NextEra Energy Resources, which is building a 151 turbine wind farm in DeKalb and Lee counties.