The next time you take a drive through the country, take Interstate 55 south about 140 miles, merge onto Interstate 74 and follow it east about 10 miles. Look around you. You probably won't see much, but this undeveloped plot of land could soon house machinery that would generate enough electricity to power three school districts. Two suburban school districts - Community Unit District 300 and Keeneyville Elementary District 20 - are looking to partner with a third district downstate - Tri-Valley School District 3 - to build a wind farm in Downs - about 10 miles southeast of Bloomington.

Landowners have been contacted by representatives from an alliance of two California companies, American Wind Energy Management and Oak Creek Energy Systems, about land lease agreements that could pave the way for a wind farm to be called Sugar Creek Wind One. The project is in the preliminary stages, so developers don't know how many turbines would be built or how much the project would cost. They companies are looking for test sites now.

Horizon Wind Energy confirmed in March it was in the early stages of evaluating the potential of a wind turbine project that would cover the corners of Vermilion, Champaign, Edgar and Coles counties. Horizon officials have said test towers could evaluate the wind for as long as two years before work begins. In Danville, however, work has already began to make sure all bases are covered for the potential of an incoming wind farm. Bill Donahue, chairman of the Vermilion County Board's finance committee, is working on an ordinance setting certain rules for everyone involved, ranging from landowners to Horizon.

At Tuesday's board meeting, trustees approved the first read of an ordinance for the construction of small wind energy systems as a special-use permit at single-family homes. Village President Brian LeClercq embraced the idea, noting that there is still a lot of research that needs to be done. "I'm really excited about alternative energy," LeClercq said after the meeting. "It's important for us to at least look at these types of things."

The permits for the 14 turbines were tabled at the board's June 14 meeting upon request of the wind farm developers after rural Walnut resident Kurt Geldean opposed the turbines, saying they would interfere with the use of his private airstrip. Addressing the zoning board Wednesday, Mike Donahue, representing Walnut Ridge developers Midwest Energy, said a verbal agreement was reached with Geldean just prior to the start of the meeting. The verbal agreement called for the withdrawal of five turbines, with Geldean agreeing not to oppose the other nine.

The Tazewell County Board approved extending an enterprise zone to a proposed wind farm against the recommendation of State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz, who said legal action against the county is the next step. "The issue will get before an Illinois court," Umholtz said Wednesday after the board's 12-4 vote. Umholtz says the extension violates the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act. He said he could find no supporting case law for the city of Pekin and the county to extend their jointly owned enterprise zone using connected, 3-foot-wide strips of land from Pekin to the Tazewell and Logan county line.

With a study under way to determine whether District 300 would benefit by installing a wind turbine at the new Hampshire High School, the district now is beginning to look into joining two other school districts to build a wind farm in central Illinois that would generate enough electricity to power the entire district. But if a state law doesn't change, the off-site wind farm idea is moot, Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates said. Under current law, school districts, community colleges, and municipalities that produce energy using a wind turbine are only credited for 20 percent of the power they produce beyond what they need ...

A letter from Hancock County State's Attorney Jim Drozdz sparked a debate about a possible conflict of interest by Hancock County board members Joe Stevenson and Tom Scheetz in their dealings with a windmill manufacturer. Stevenson and Scheetz have each signed an option agreement with EcoEnergy, a windmill manufacturing company looking to develop a windmill farm in the county. The company plans to issue a site plan in the future which details who receives a windmill. The site plan must be approved by the county board. Drozdz stated in his letter, dated June 20, he believed there was a conflict of interest by Scheetz and Stevenson when they voted on "matters related to windmill farms."

Invenergy of Chicago is to expand the multi-million dollar Grand Rapids Wind Energy Center eastward into Grundy County. "We are currently reaching out to the landowners," Invenergy spokesman Michael Arndt noted Wednesday, during the public meeting concerning the expansion project. "We held a landowners meeting recently with those who will prospectively be hosting wind turbines, and 120 landowners showed up. They're very interested."

Although Horizon Wind Energy jumped a big hurdle Tuesday by receiving a conditional-use permit from the Logan County Board, more obstacles still line the path to the start of construction on the Rail Splitter Wind Farm in Logan and Tazewell counties. "Frankly, we can't establish a start date," project manager Bill Whitlock said Wednesday afternoon. "The threat from the objectors has created too much uncertainty." Ninety days of uncertainty, as it turns out. That's based on Rockford attorney Rick Porter's threat to appeal the permit's legality if no property value guarantee is provided to his clients, members of Union Ridge Wind. Members of the Logan County Board approved the project Tuesday without the guarantee.

Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz is threatening legal action against the county itself if it ignores his advice and expands an enterprise zone to include a proposed wind farm. Umholtz sent a letter Tuesday to County Board members, saying he opposes expanding the zone to include the Rail Splitter Wind Farm near the Tazewell and Logan county line, saying it would violate state statute. "Let me make myself perfectly clear," Umholtz said in the letter. "The proposed expansion of the enterprise zone does not meet the statutory requirements and should not be approved by the County Board."

The Bureau County Board has voted to seek fines against a rural Tiskilwa wind farm for not building its turbines in the correct places. ...The problem was discovered this spring when the developers came to her office for a final sign-off on the project, Donarski said. Board member Dale Anderson said the developers should have told the county about the problem in February, rather than May. The wind farm should be fined if it isn't in compliance with the county zoning code, Steve Sondgeroth said.

The Bureau County Board voted in favor of penalizing a rural Tiskilwa wind farm for being in violation of building standards. The board voted 13 to 5 recently to fine Providence Heights wind farm for not maintaining a proper distance from property lines in setting up seven turbines. While the board agreed on fining the wind farm a maximum of $500 a week per turbine, it did not reach a consensus on the exact amount.

Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz is threatening legal action against the county itself if it ignores his advice and expands an enterprise zone to include a proposed wind farm. Umholtz sent a letter Tuesday to County Board members, saying he opposes expanding the zone to include the Rail Splitter Wind Farm near the Tazewell and Logan county line, saying it would violate state statute. "Let me make myself perfectly clear," Umholtz said in the letter. "The proposed expansion of the enterprise zone does not meet the statutory requirements and should not be approved by the County Board."

The trade winds of good fortune are blowing through Christian County again, with news of another major wind farm under development. This time it's a Lenexa, Kan., company called TradeWind Energy, which is looking to build a 100-turbine project on perhaps 14,000 acres of farmland about a mile north of Pana. "Rolling Farms Wind Project" was announced Wednesday and could feature about 100 360-foot-tall turbines and cost up to $500 million to build.

If the $1.8 million project remains on schedule, the turbine will begin generating electricity for about 300 rural electric customers this fall. The Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative at Auburn announced plans in September 2006 for construction of a wind turbine atop a 60- to 70-foot hill on the site of a former Freeman United coal mine at Farmersville, 30 miles south of Springfield. President and CEO David Stuva said Monday the co-op wound up on a waiting list because of worldwide demand for wind turbines.

A public wind energy partnership is moving forward in Mercer County. The project involves the county nursing home, jail, hospital and the Aledo School District. ...The county is seeking a $750,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation as well as a federal earmark from U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill. The county board also has authorized a pre-application for additional financing through the Illinois Finance Authority.

Three more wind farms - each a utility-scale project with the potential for 100 to 150 towers - are in the works for central Illinois. Trade Wind Energy, a Kansas-based alternative energy developer, confirmed the company has signed leases with landowners for two wind farms in DeWitt County and is in discussions for a third in Christian County. The first two sites are east and west of Clinton, about 45 miles northeast of Springfield, and the third is north of Pana, 45 miles southeast of Springfield. ...Trade Wind Energy has held meetings with Farm Bureau and elected officials in both counties, and Enger said company executives understand it is important to be "open and transparent" about development plans.

A judge ruled Monday that a trial date should be set sooner rather than later in the civil lawsuit involving a proposed wind farm along the border of McLean and Woodford counties. Judge Scott Drazewski set Oct. 27 for a bench trial for a lawsuit filed by Information is Power, a citizens group that opposes construction of the 100-turbine White Oak Energy Center wind farm by Chicago-based Invenergy Wind. The lawsuit contends the McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals denied property owners their rights by limiting testimony during hearings on a special use permit for the project.

Construction of the Big Sky wind turbines in northern Bureau County and southeastern Lee County has been put on hold until next spring. On Monday, Charley Parnell, spokesman for the Edison Mission Group, said the delay is due to technical design problems with turbine blades ordered from an India-based company, Suzlon. Edison Mission Group is still evaluating the turbine blade situation and wants to make sure the turbines it gets for Big Sky are efficient and functioning properly. The developers do have other companies from which they could get their turbine blades, Parnell said.