Caseyville police arrested businessman and windmill-builder Larry Wetzel on Monday afternoon after a judge signed a warrant for his failing to appear in court on charges he forged a building permit. A jury found Wetzel guilty of four counts of forgery in September. Prosecutors said he presented a faked building permit to police and a court clerk in an effort to build a wind turbine and power building in Caseyville.

This time, the county was prepared, but the developer was not ready to advance the Minonk Wind Farm project for a vote by the Woodford County Board. At the request of David Radin, project manager for developer Gamesa Energy, the County Board on Tuesday tabled a vote on a road agreement as well as a special-use permit for the proposed 100-turbine project.

A recommendation that a proposed 333-turbine wind farm should be given a special use permit is on its way to the McLean County Board. The McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to recommend Horizon Wind Energy LLC's plan for Black Prairie Wind Farm, which would dot 3,500 acres north of Illinois 9 east of Bloomington-Normal. The County Board likely will not take up the issue until its January meeting.

Where's the best place for a wind turbine in Orland Park? What are the advantages of a geothermal system? Should the village add solar power to some of its buildings? These are some of the questions sustainability consultant Teresa Fourcher will help village officials answer. The village is expected to use up to $10,000 in grant money from its $200,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to pay Fourcher. Village manager Paul Grimes said most municipal staffs don't know a "hill of beans" about renewable energy so some help is needed.

The Livingston County Board at its meeting Thursday night approved amending the Streator Enterprise Zone Agreement, which had been in effect since the 1980s, so that several school districts in the county can benefit from the property involved in the Iberdrola wind farm project. ...County Board attorney Tom Blakeman explained that the county will abate the portion of property taxes involved with the wind towers. He said this would allow the schools to receive general state aid and then funds from Iberdrola.

Stephenson County Board member Jeff Mikkelsen said he will introduce a proposal to make wind farms a permitted use within the zoning ordinance to eliminate the need for a special use permit. Such a zoning change, he said, would eliminate the need to hold lengthy public hearings on future wind farm projects, making Stephenson County a more attractive prospect for wind energy companies. Mikkelsen, who serves as chairman of the County Planning and Development Committee, said he may ask his committee to consider this proposal in the near future.

The latest effort by a local computer business to go green has some residents in a nearby subdivision seeing red. Other World Computing's new wind turbine, 131 feet tall not counting its three 63-foot-long blades, towers over the open space and farmland that surround it just southeast of Woodstock. But some residents of the Savannah Grove subdivision 1,600 feet to the west say it towers over them, as well. The refurbished turbine went up over the course of an October weekend to many residents' surprise, homeowner Ron Cyscon said.

It was another restless night in a long string of interrupted sleep. Amaranth's Leo Mendonca didn't feel quite right, like something was wrong, but he didn't know what, or why. When he got out of bed, he was struck by a wave of nausea. ...Thinking some fresh air may do the trick, he headed out to the garden. There, he looked up and saw what he now believes is the source of his troubles ... an industrial-sized wind turbine about 600 metres away, and many more within sight.

An ordinance to protect local infrastructure during the construction of massive wind mills used for generating electricity was tabled again at the Nov. 4 Edgar County Board meeting. The board's decision to forestall action was expected as the Wind Energy Conversion System Ordinance was first brought to the board for adoption on Oct. 7 but was tabled at that time because of questions raised during the public hearing.

The McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals will meet Nov. 17 to discuss four days of testimony and public comments on Horizon Wind Energy's wind farm special use permit application. "I want this board to have some time to review the documents that have been presented and think about the decision," said ZBA Chairwoman Sally Rudolph. Closing arguments were presented Monday night on a proposed 333-turbine project in eastern McLean County in the Towanda, Blue Mound, Martin and Anchor townships. The area is north of the existing 240-turbine Twin Groves Wind Farm in rural Arrowsmith, Ellsworth and Saybrook.

A majority of Narragansett residents support wind turbines in their community, according to a survey released last week by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management and town of Narragansett. ...Seventy-one percent supported wind turbines if they could not hear them from their house. However, support dropped to 38 percent if they could be heard from their house.

An engineering lecturer given the task of monitoring noise levels around the Waubra Wind Farm says there needs to be a thorough independent investigation by the State Government. University of Ballarat engineering lecturer Graeme Hood has spent time at Waubra monitoring sound levels in the area to determine the nature of sound emitted by the wind farm. Mr. Hood commenced the research in September in response to complaints from a number of residents.

University of Ballarat engineering lecturer Graeme Hood said the Victorian Government should commission a comprehensive independent investigation to determine exact levels of inaudible sound produced, after his own study proved inconclusive. ...Mr Hood said his research found that an audible swishing noise emitted by the turbines ranged between 60dB, or the equivalent of conversational speech, and 80dB, or the equivalent of average street traffic.

Concerns over "flicker vertigo," property values and flight paths for crop dusters were raised by area residents who voiced their objection Thursday to the proposed Black Prairie wind farm east of the Twin Cities. Horizon Wind Energy LLC is seeking a special use permit to locate about 333 turbines in Towanda, Blue Mound, Martin and Anchor townships, north of Illinois 9. ...After taking testimony for more than four hours, the zoning board continued the hearing until November. A date had not been announced as of The Pantagraph's press time.

Before anyone in Walnut signs any deals with any wind farm company, a forum will be held Sunday to discuss how commercial turbines could impact the community, one organizer said. Rockford-based environmental lawyer Rick Porter is scheduled to talk about the long-term effects wind farms can have. Porter is the attorney representing 39 DeKalb residents suing to block a 151-turbine wind farm that straddles the DeKalb/Lee county border.

Ontario's Medical Officer of Health Arlene King doesn't see any scientific evidence that links wind turbines with adverse health effects. When contacted yesterday, Ministry of Health and Long- Term Care spokesperson David Jensen said it is King's position that there is no link between the noise turbines make and adverse health effects people claim to be experiencing, such as severe headaches and joint and muscle aches.

A newly activated subcommittee of the Macon County Board voted 6-0 Tuesday evening to pass along two revised ordinances to the board's Environmental, Health, Education and Welfare Committee. The Siting, Rules and Ordinance Subcommittee first approved changes to an ordinance governing the siting and construction of wind energy conversion systems.

The McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a third public hearing Thursday on Horizon Wind Energy's request for a special-use permit to build an expansion of the Twin Groves Wind Farm expected to cost in excess of $400 million. The hearing, the first opportunity for opponents of the permit to give testimony, will be at 7 p.m. at the county's Government Center, 115 E. Washington St. Two more hearings for permit foes may be scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 9 and 10, also at the Government Center.

Construction resumed Monday north of Ohio on the Big Sky wind farm, which may be operational by next winter. The wind farm's approaching completion has implications on the question of closing Ohio High School, although opinions differ on whether the money generated by the wind farm can solve the district's problems.

Woodford County is on the verge of losing $566,000 in wind farm building permit fees next year because of the failure to negotiate road agreements with Gamesa/Navitas. The Zoning Board of Appeals earlier approved special use permits for the Minonk and Roanoke wind farms, and they will come before the County Board when road agreements with the county and townships involved are completed.