Closing arguments are expected to begin tonight in the controversial application by Invenergy to allow a 100-turbine wind farm in part of the agricultural areas of McLean and Woodford counties. Attorneys representing Invenergy and opponents will be allowed to speak 20 minutes and people who previously testified and are not represented by attorneys will have five minutes. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in Room 400 of the Government Center, 115 E. Washington St.

Invenergy representatives got a chance Tuesday to talk about the company and tell why they want to build a 100-turbine wind farm in McLean and Woodford counties. They spoke at the first in a series of public hearings before the McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals. Meanwhile, Melissa McGrath, an attorney representing several opponents of the project, questioned a McLean County Building and Zoning Department recommendation for the wind farm.

Any votes to move forward a contentious zoning issue involving a wind farm development in Woodford and McLean counties are postponed until early next year. With a 14-0 vote Tuesday, the Woodford County Board opted to send a Zoning Board of Appeals recommendation allowing a special use permit for the development of up to 20 turbines near Carlock back to that board for a rehearing. The move comes about two months after the county’s ZBA approved the permit amid criticism that they violated the state’s Open Meetings Act.

“The blade diameter will be 286 feet wide. That’s like having a football field suspended 256 feet in the air spinning.” Michael King and Carol Johnson believe that spinning wind turbine could be a health hazard and will drastically change the landscape of Stephenson County for the worst, so they decided to construct a scale model. “So that we could see and our neighbors could see how big these things are going to be in relation to something everyone in the area recognizes.”

A public hearing on a special-use permit to allow a 100-turbine wind farm on 12,000 acres of farmland in McLean and Woodford counties has been moved to mid-January. The McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals voted Tuesday night to extend the hearings after listening to pleas from several residents who live in the proposed area. Those residents said they only recently learned of the plans for the White Oak Wind Energy Center proposed by Chicago-based Invenergy Wind LLC.

Two developers will have to share the winds surrounding a Bureau County wind farm, as the County Board on Tuesday approved building permits for a $100 million project. The board unanimously approved 42 conditional use permits for Chicago-based Midwest Wind Energy’s Crescent Ridge II project, a 75-megawatt wind farm to be built to the northwest and south of the original Crescent Ridge wind farm in rural Tiskilwa. The farms are all along the Crescent Ridge. The project received little opposition from landowners near the proposed project, but did receive some negative remarks from the developers of Eurus Crescent Ridge II LLC, which has already received permits for its 64-megawatt wind farm in the same area.

Seventeen of the approximately 70 people attending the three-hour session spoke to the Livingston County Zoning Board of Appeals, which is holding the hearing and will make a recommendation to the Livingston County Board on the special use permit needed for a wind farm under county zoning. ...The first person presenting evidence Monday, Judy Campbell, of Manville, and a candidate for the Livingston County Board, cited "cumulative" negative impacts of the proposed wind farm, on people, agriculture and the rural character of the county. She said wind energy has an "uncertain future" and that the Cayuga Ridge project was not consistent in all respects with the county's comprehensive plan.

The winds of approval blew east Tuesday as the Lee County Board sanctioned 18 potential wind turbines, leaving DeKalb County the last word on the project's remaining 132 turbines. If DeKalb County gives its OK, the turbines will be built in Alto and Willow Creek townships in Lee County's northeastern corner. NextEra Energy Resources, the company leading the project, said the turbines would be erected this summer, with a targeted completion date in December.

The wind in woodford county is causing quite a stir these days. "In a small community it's the highlight of the year," said John Krug, Woodford County Board Chairman. It all revolves around a special use permit before the Woodford County board that could allow a 40 turbine wind farm near Route 24 outside El Paso. "We're going to hear a lot of things from a lot of people, at some point the county board will be voting yes or no on the special use permit for the El Paso wind farm," said Krug. Those opposed to the El Paso wind farm say it brings up economic, quality of life and environmental issues.

BELVIDERE — Sparks flew Wednesday night as the Boone County Board voted to postpone action on a proposed wind farm that has left the board sharply divided.

Plans for a wind farm near El Paso have been stalled for nearly a year because of township road issues, but now an agreement and final vote may be a month away. Paul Lewis, attorney for wind farm developer Navitas Energy of Minneapolis, and Robert Lenz, representing commissioners in El Paso and Palestine townships, say progress has been made on an agreement on maintenance of township roads. A stipulation from the Zoning Board of Appeals a year ago required an agreement between township road commissioners and the company before a special-use permit could be granted.

EL PASO - With recent talk of a wind farm to be located in and near this community, its City Council held a meeting Saturday to hear the opinions of those who might be most affected. "People are just unaware of what is going on around us," Mayor Herb Arbuckle said. "I'd like to try and get some information out about it." At an informational meeting held in February for the proposed El Paso wind farm, Wanda Davies of Navitas Energy explained her company's interest in building a 40-turbine wind farm on the west side of Interstate 39 about one mile north and three miles south of U.S. Route 24. Ten turbines would be in El Paso and 30 would be in Palestine Township. Prior to the meeting Saturday, Arbuckle was concerned the council and residents had only heard one side of the story. "The thing that's the most disturbing to me is, nobody knows anything about it" said Hudson resident Bill Preller. No one from Navitas Energy attended the meeting, which began at 7 a.m. at City Hall.

The La Salle County Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-2 to recommend issuing a special use permit for a wind farm in the far southeast corner of the county. The final permit is scheduled to be considered for County Board approval in February. Officials from Horizon Wind Energy, which is owned by the Portuguese utility company Energias de Portugal Renovaveis, S.A., outlined plans for the Top Crop wind farm, which is to be built in La Salle, Grundy and Livingston counties.

The wind energy proposal would create significant tax revenue for the district. "Eighty-five turbines in the district, with each turbine generating $16,000 in new tax dollars, would be $800,000 to $1 million for the district," he said. "This is huge, with the latest tax dollars would be realized estimated in 2010. Farmers would receive $4,000 to $5,000 for each turbine in a 25-year lease agreement."

The fight to stop wind farm developers from running 20 miles of high-voltage power lines through the center of Lee County may not be over. Amboy resident Sam Taormina approached the Lee County Regional Planning Commission Monday night, loaded with questions about why the company was pouring the foundation for new poles in a wetland across the street from his state Route 26 home. ...One thing, however, is clear: Taormina plans to pursue every avenue he knows to stop Big Sky Wind from installing high-voltage transmission lines above ground, instead of burying the cable or tying into the grid elsewhere.

Proposed changes to Bureau County’s zoning ordinance on wind farms received no support from the Bureau County Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday night. After nearly three hours of testimony, an overflow crowd heard board of appeals members unanimously vote against endorsing a proposed amendment to Section 3.41-4S regarding the burial of transmission lines for power and communication. Board member Clem Newton passed on the vote. ...According to Dennis Johnson of a Kansas-based utility engineering firm, burying six miles of the wind farm’s power lines would cost $18 million to $24 million, compared to $1.8 million to $3 million for the same lines if placed overhead.

The White Oak Wind Energy Center will get another public hearing in Woodford County because there have been questions about how zoning officials handled a public hearing. The decision to have a new hearing nullifies the Zoning Board of Appeals’ 4-0 vote recommending special-use permits for 10 to 15 turbines in Kansas Township. No date has been set for the new hearing, which also will include another round of public comments.

The focus will shift back to the Springfield City Council in the city’s power plant saga following Friday’s dismissal by the U.S. Environmental Appeals Board of developer David Maulding’s appeal of City Water, Light and Power’s permit to build a new generator. Aldermen on the utilities committee will consider three ordinances Wednesday that would essentially re-enact the original deal the city made with the Sierra Club to forego its objections to the permit and make CWLP more environmentally friendly. The difference is that the ordinances call for no binding contract with the Sierra Club.

The Livingston County Board learned details at its Thursday meeting of a filing late last Friday that will seek to erect 323 wind turbines in the county along two sides of Cayuga Ridge. Heartland Wind, LLC, a subsidiary of PPM Energy, filed two wind-energy conversion system (WECS) applications on June 8. The first application is for approval to construct and operate up to 154 turbines south and southeast of Interstate 55, along Cayuga Ridge. This will be known as Cayuga Ridge South Wind Project. The second application is for up to 169 turbines north and west of I-55, along the ridge and will be known as Cayuga Ridge North Ridge Project. This will make a total of 323 turbines in Livingston County.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office has declined to give an opinion about the legality of expanding a jointly-owned enterprise zone in Tazewell County, State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz said Friday. Umholtz requested an opinion from Madigan's office several months ago ...But Umholtz said the issue isn't quite over for him. "This is an issue of statewide importance," he said. "I'm still trying to encourage state government to follow state law."