The public will have a chance to heard once again on an energy company's proposal for a wind farm after the county's planning and zoning committee sent the application back to a public hearing. The DeKalb Planning and Zoning Committee voted 7-0 Wednesday on a motion to have a new public hearing based on an opinion rendered by DeKalb County State's Attorney Ron Matekaitis.

When John and Pam Pitstick stand in their front yard later this year, they may see five turbines within a half mile, 1,400 hundred feet off the west side of their house. "Within two miles of our house, there's 27 turbines going up," said John Pitstick. Florida Power and Light wants to erect a wind farm with 151 turbines not far from a wind farm in neighboring Lee County. Each of the turbines planned for southern DeKalb County would be 100 feet taller than these with their blades topping out at 400 feet above the ground.

A hearing officer has recommended the county board deny a request for a special use permit to an energy company that wants to build and operate a wind farm in southern DeKalb County. ...The recommendation of DeKalb County Hearing Officer Dave Dockus stems from testimony given during a nearly 19-hour public hearing held Saturday in the gymnasium of Sycamore High School regarding a proposal by NextEra Energy Resources. At one point, 700 people were estimated to be in attendance at the hearing.

In a March 25 report, DeKalb County Hearing Office Dave Dockus recommended the special use permit that was applied for in January by NextEra Energy Resources be denied based on eight findings. Those reasons include "significant disagreement" between expert sources on the effect wind turbines have on property values and the effect noise of the turbines has on public health. Dockus also cited a lack of evidence on the impact heavy trucks would have on local roads.

Hundreds of men and women of all ages flocked to the Sycamore High School gymnasium, 555 Spartan Trail, at 9 a.m., on Saturday to voice their opinions in a public hearing regarding the proposal of a wind farm in DeKalb County. What many of these attendees didn't know was that the hearing would last until about 3:40 a.m. the next morning.

More than 700 people filled the bleachers and folding chairs in Sycamore High School's gymnasium Saturday morning; just a handful stayed for the entire public hearing on a proposed wind farm, which stretched into the late evening. ...Hours of testimony were heard from company representatives, lawyers and more than two dozen nearby residents to gather information on the project and help the hearing officer make a recommendation to the DeKalb County Board. Public comments weren't heard until after 9 p.m.

A group of residents on the west side of the county plans to ask the Sangamon County Board to impose stricter rules on placement of wind turbines near rural homes. An attorney for the group said today the request that the current minimum of 1,000 feet be extended to a mile is in anticipation of a wind farm of up to 200 turbines in the area.

The regulations both protect the county for such costly endeavors and facilitates their development, Morgan County Planner Dusty Douglas said. The ordinance requires a "secure financial assurance" from a prospective company for repair work if any roads are damaged during construction, operation or maintenance, liability insurance and a thorough decommissioning plan. ...Morgan County does not have a countywide zoning code, which energy companies typically use and adhere to in developing wind turbine projects.

It might have been one of the most well-attended canceled meetings in DeKalb County history. An estimated 375 people packed a room in the county health facility Thursday night for a public hearing on a proposed wind farm. ...Because so many wanted to hear and be heard, DeKalb County Hearing Officer Dave Dockus canceled the meeting shortly after it started on account of the venue being too small and conditions "unfair" for everyone in the audience to hear and participate.

Once again, plans for a wind farm are before DeKalb County officials, this time with 133 turbines being proposed in DeKalb County and 18 turbines in Lee County. A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 7 tonight in the multipurpose room of the DeKalb County Health Department, 2574 N. Annie Glidden Road, DeKalb.

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 Woodford County Zoning Board has granted initial approval to an 87-turbine wind installation around Minonk after a series of public hearings earlier in the week. But the project, proposed by Minneapolis-based Navitas, still faces several hurdles before towers can sprout in rolling farm fields in rural Woodford and Livingston counties.

Lee County is one step closer to hosting 18 new wind turbines, despite concerns from local residents who say the project is moving too quickly. The county zoning board approved a special use permit Thursday, which means the only hurdles left for builders to clear are a full board vote Feb. 17, and approval from DeKalb County, where the company wants to build 133 turbines in portions of Afton, Clinton, Milan and Shabbona townships.

A meteorological tower set to be placed in Tazewell County will now likely be erected in Logan County. The Logan County Zoning Board of Appeals will meet at 7 p.m. today in Hartsburg's American Legion Hall to discuss giving Horizon Wind Energy a conditional-use permit to move the tower's location. Logan County zoning officer Will D'Andrea said the tower wasn't going to be effective in Tazewell County, and Horizon felt one of the previously studied locations in Logan County would work better.

Locally, the project entails six turbines in southern Alto Township and 12 turbines in Willow Creek Township, just north of U.S. Highway 30. Those townships stand to collect about 70 percent of the $220,000 paid yearly by FPL Group, the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, the subsidiary handling the project. That money would be used to fund things such as road maintenance and local school districts. In DeKalb County, 133 of the nearly 400-foot-tall turbines are proposed.

The La Salle portion of the proposed Top Crop wind farm got a near-unanimous vote of approval Thursday by the La Salle County Board. A special use permit for a wind farm in the far southeast corner of the county that was recommended in December by a 3-2 vote of the Zoning Board of Appeals got a 25-1 vote from the County Board. Jerry Myers, R-Streator, abstained. The vote clears the way for construction of the first, and smallest, phase of the project.

Just off I-39 lies rural El Paso, Ill. But it's hardly a quiet place. Some of its 2,700 residents got pretty worked up in 2007 after learning that Navitas Energy of Minneapolis wanted to build a wind farm in their back yard. It proposed 40 turbines, each peaking at 2 megawatts of electric output. Sitting in Woody's Family Restaurant on the town's main drag, roof truss salesman Kevin Moore explains that he worried the proposed windmills could hurt property values, stunt the town's growth and flick dangerous ice balls.

Vermilion County board members voted to approve a new ordinance handling the emergence of wind farms locally Tuesday night. The ordinance, which has been on public display since early December, sets up a number of ground rules for the wind farms, ranging from ranging from road care during the construction of the wind turbines and the buffer zone between the turbines and property to the permit process for a wind farm.

The Paxton City Council concurred with a plan commission recommendation for new city restrictions on where wind turbines can be built outside city limits. Now turbines cannot be put up within half a mile of the city limits on Paxton's northeast side or within one mile of the city's other three sides. Previously, under a Ford County ordinance, turbines could be built as close as 1,500 feet to the city.

The ordinance deals with the issues surrounding the placement of turbines in a wind farm, ranging from road care during the construction of the wind turbines and the buffer zone between the turbines and property to the permit process for a wind farm.