A proposed wind tower farm could bring additional tax revenue and jobs to Iroquois County.

The Iroquois County Board learned Tuesday that Vision Energy has proposed building a 300-tower wind farm in the counties of Iroquois, Ford, Livingston and Kankakee -- with 45 to 50 towers to potentially be built in Milks Grove Township in Iroquois County's northwest corner, between Chebanse and Herscher.

Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman Merle Lemenager said that Zoning Administrator Gloria Schleef attended an Aug. 5 meeting with Vision Energy. The company intends to call the project K4 Wind Farm with construction projected to start in the fourth quarter of 2009.

It will take approximately 12 months for the project to be completed and the farm to be in full operation. Each tower will cost $2.5 million and will produce 1.5 to 2.5 megawatts of energy, enough to power about 400 homes, which will be sold to Commonwealth Edison. Schleef also learned that Vision Energy will employ about 30 to 40 highly skilled workers. However, not all of these workers will be from Iroquois County.

Several other wind farms have been proposed or are currently being built in the region, but none is currently operational.

The board approved a recommendation of the planning and zoning committee to amend the wind tower ordinance to include a $1,500 initial fee to review the wind farm application before any hearing is held. The cost to conduct a hearing is $750. Additional costs would include the hiring of a court stenographer to be paid for by the applicant. The board briefly discussed adding an insert that required the wind energy company to repair or replace drainage tile damaged during construction, but did not take any action.

Board member John Dowling said, "We have something like this come up and we're always putting roadblocks in the way."

State's Attorney Jim Devine said that the process can be extremely costly to the zoning department, and the additional fees would simply cover the county's costs.

Saying that he agreed with Dowling, County Board Chairman Ron Schroeder said, "It's very difficult to grow when we put up these roadblocks. The drainage problem should be the landowner's responsibility."

He added, "You may lose money now, but gain it back many times over."

Supervisor of Assessments Bob Yergler told The Daily Journal that the state has designed a tax rate for wind towers that gradually depreciates over a 25-year period. At the end of 25 years, a new tower would be built and the rate would begin at the top level again. In the first year, he estimated that a two-megawatt tower would bring in approximately $19,000 a year in tax revenue to Iroquois county.

The Regional Planning Commission will hear Vision Energy's request at its Oct. 7 meeting.