The request by a group of residents upset over a wind turbine they say impacts the quality of their lives was granted at the Libertyville Village Board's last meeting when a moratorium relating to the construction, installation and operation of wind turbines was approved. The 180-day moratorium was approved in conjunction with a referral from the board to the Plan Commission to review possible amendments to the zoning code pertaining to wind turbines.

Citizens for the Protection of Libertyville addressed the Village Board at its last meeting over their concerns about a wind turbine operating near their residences. Dave Gates, a member of Citizens for the Protection of Libertyville, said the group is upset over a 120-foot wind turbine located at Aldridge Electric, 844 E. Rockland Road, within 250-feet of their homes.

Clean power is regarded as an exciting possibility, but few towns have ordinances on the books to regulate potential impacts, such as noise or flickering shadows. To avoid pitfalls, several towns have imposed moratoriums and about a dozen have teamed with the county in a task force to study issues surrounding wind power.

Residents living near a recently installed wind turbine in Libertyville will continue to fight what they say is a harmful presence in their neighborhood. Members of Citizens for the Protection of Libertyville, a grass roots group centered east of where the turbine is located, are scheduled to address the village board today regarding the 120-foot structure at Aldridge Electric Inc., 844 Rockland Road. "Our goal is to get them to rescind those special ordinances designed for Aldridge and start over again," said Dave Gates.

Residents of Benson say they are not opposed to having a wind farm in their community but would prefer them to be at least a mile and half outside the village limits. At a meeting of Woodford County's Conservation, Planning and Zoning Committee on Tuesday, a Village Board representative presented a letter asking the county to insert a 1.5-mile setback radius surrounding Benson to the wind farm permit.

Opponents of a wind turbine adjacent to a residential neighborhood won an extension of a temporary restraining order to keep the turbine turned off until July 14. ..."At that hearing we will be expected to present our evidence that we are being harmed by the noise of the turbine," Gates said.

Citizens for Protection of Libertyville scored another victory in court this morning. Judge Mitchell Hoffman issued a 2nd temporary restraining order against Aldridge Electric and DPR Investments LLC that shut down the turbine until July 14, 2009. Citizens for Protection of Libertyville, a group of neighbors who live in the surrounding area, are suing the Village of Libertyville, Aldridge Electric Inc. and DPR Investments LLC to force the permanent shut-down of the 146' turbine that was erected within a few hundred feet of their backyards.

The huge fan blade of the 126-foot wind turbine behind a Libertyville electrical contractor stands still now, a temporary concession to neighbors who find it a nuisance despite being touted as green energy. ...Shortly after the turbine was installed -- about 275 feet from one resident's backyard -- neighbors began complaining about noise, light from the turbine's reflective surface and the "flicker effect" created by the rotating fan blade.

A group of about three dozen residents likely will file a lawsuit in appeal of the county board's decision to grant a permit to an energy company to build a wind farm in the county, an attorney representing the group said Thursday. "I view it as highly likely we will be appealing," Rick Porter, an attorney for the anti-wind farm group Citizens for Open Government, said early Thursday afternoon.

Wind farm opponents got no reprieve from Woodford County on Tuesday, which voted to leave unchanged the ordinance that would increase the distance of wind turbines from adjoining structures. By an 8-6 vote, the Woodford County Board agreed with the county's Zoning Board of appeals not to increase the setbacks from the current 750 feet to 1,800 feet. To overturn the ZBA's recommendation would have required a super-majority vote.

The two sides are scheduled to meet Tuesday night at the company headquarters to discuss the company's 120-foot wind turbine. It was installed in April "to help Aldridge Electric offset their retail rate electricity," according to a company news release. Since then, neighbors have complained of noise levels, light from the turbine's reflective surface, and the "flicker effect" created by the rotating fan blade.

Aldridge Electric's new wind turbine has stopped spinning, while the company attempts to strike a compromise over what neighbors are calling excessive noise. On Tuesday, a group of nine residents who live near the Libertyville company, 844 E. Rockland Road, obtained a restraining order signed by a judge asking Aldridge to temporarily stop the turbine from spinning.

Libertyville officials are investigating complaints about noise generated by a 120-foot-tall wind turbine at a local business. The concerns arose just a few days before this Friday's planned ribbon-cutting ceremony for Aldridge Electric's turbine. The device was installed earlier this month to generate cleaner energy for the business, an electrical contracting firm at 844 E. Rockland Road.

The wind farm debate that has raged across America has landed on Chicago's doorstep. Folks in quiet, rural DeKalb County are raising a ruckus at the possibility of 400-foot turbines next to their orchards, honeybees and livestock. About 700 people gathered in a high school gymnasium at 9 a.m. on a recent Saturday for a public hearing on the proposed wind farm. By the time the project developer had fielded every question and concern, it was 4 a.m. Sunday.

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.

DeKalb County Board Member Mike Haines addressed the Genoa City Council last week asking for feedback on two issues: a133-unit windmill operation proposed by NextEra Energy Resources, and a solution to the county's need for more landfill space. ..."All the tough decisions are when there's no right or wrong answer," Haines said. "There will be good people on both sides of the issue."

Beth Einsele of Shabbona doesn't have one nice thing to say about windmill farms. They're dinosaurs, the Realtor said about the rows of typically white whooshing turbines. They're offensive to home buyers. They're dangerous. They don't produce anything. ...Not surprisingly, Einsele is among those opposing a 151 turbine wind farm proposed for ...DeKalb and Lee counties. The project is proposed by Florida Power & Light Energy Illinois Wind LLC.

Bill Durdan has farmed northeast of Grand Ridge for 43 years and often relied on crop dusters. Now, however, he has been told his proximity to wind turbine towers will prevent him from receiving that service. The cost to him could be lost crops and lost revenue, he told the La Salle County Zoning Board of Appeals Tuesday evening. ...Kim Schertz of Hudson, who works in her husband's crop dusting business, said the problem is pilots simply can not safely pull up and make the necessary turns in a wind farm area. "These guys are good, but they're not kamikazes."

In August, Union Ridge Wind, opponents of the Railsplitter Wind Farm, did file a court appeal on the conditional use of agriculture-zoned land for the construction of a wind farm. The Logan County Board granted the conditional use to Railsplitter Wind Farm and Horizon Wind Energy in July. The appeal would need to be dropped before the county would sign one of the agreements necessary for meeting the conditions set forth by the Logan County Zoning Board of Appeals and accepted by the county board in July.

A grassroots group has sued to stop development of the Streator Cayuga Ridge South Wind Farm in Livingston County. "We are concerned not only for our interests, but we are concerned with the interest of safety and health of the county's population," said one of the plaintiffs, Cheryl Tate of Blackstone. People Protecting Cayuga Ridge and 12 individuals are listed on the lawsuit aimed at preventing construction of a $1.5 billion, 155-turbine project spread across 15,000 acres between the communities of Odell and Emington.