Wind farm decision appealed

RUSHVILLE — A Rush County decision to require 2,300-foot setbacks from the property lines of non-participating landowners in order to erect wind turbines is being legally challenged by Flat Rock Wind LLC.

Flat Rock Wind, LLC, a subsidiary of Apex Clean Energy, filed  a request for a judicial review of a decision made by the Rush County Board of Zoning Appeals July 1. That decision, made at a public forum with hundreds of people in attendance, allowed for the special exception Flat Rock Wind was seeking to place wind turbines in Rush County, but stipulated a 2,300-foot setback. Rush County’s ordinance regarding wind energy conversion systems calls for a 1,000-foot setback from nearby homes and Flat Rock Wind voluntarily agreed to increase that distance to 1,400 feet.

The company’s original plan was to place approximately 65 wind turbines in Rush County, a roughly $200 million investment, and as many as 29 turbines in Henry County, an investment of nearly $100 million. The judicial appeal states Flat Rock Wind has 88 contracts in place with Rush County landowners to place 66 wind turbines.

“We hope the county, and more specifically the board of zoning appeals, would be willing to have a settlement conversation with us so we can all reach a more reasonable outcome than what was imposed,” Flat Rock Wind’s project manager Rob Propes said. “If they are unwilling to do that or we can’t reach a resolution the appeal would follow a normal course and be decided by a circuit court level judge, which could take months and create additional expense for us and additional expense for the county to defend the appeal, which I don’t think is in anybody’s best interest.”

Propes said the bottom line is that the company wants to move forward with the project.

“We’ll be working to get the three county agreements signed by Henry and Rush County in the next few weeks and we continue to do field work in Rush and Henry counties on the technical side of things. We’re moving ahead on different fronts where we can,” Propes said. “Through the WECS zoning ordinance, landowners in Rush County were encouraged to incorporate wind energy on their land to supplement farm revenues. The appeal by Apex is in part motivated by our commitment to defend the rights of these landowners to use their land as they desire. The 2,300 foot setback from a wind turbine to the property line of of non-participating landowner was not rooted in any information presented to the BZA on July 1. There was no basis for its decision, and we are not aware of any evidence to support it.”

The three agreements Propes referenced are the economic development, road use and decommissioning agreements. The first details the financial side of the proposed project, the second states that the developers will repair any county roads damaged during construction of the project, and the decommissioning agreement specifies the developer will set aside funds needed to take the turbines down if the company is no longer using them or in business.

Rush County Economic and Community Development Corporation executive director John McCane said he is aware an appeal has been filed but has not seen it. He also noted that Rush County has tried to attract wind energy developers to the area for several years.

“We’ve been supportive and will continue to be supportive. The county, in general, since 2008, has intentionally included (wind energy conversion systems) as part of our zoning plan,” he said.

New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corporation president and CEO Corey Murphy indicated he wasn’t surprised the Rush County BZA’s decision has been appealed.

“I think it’s a logical step and a logical action to take from Apex’s perspective and I hope the decision-making process in regards to the appeal is efficient,” Murphy said.

Rush County Commissioners Mark Bacon and Rick Levi declined comment when contacted by The Courier-Times.

The Henry County Commissioners voted July 8 to continue working with Flat Rock Wind in an effort to keep the project alive.

“We have to protect the interests of our citizens. That’s our priority,” Henry County Commissioner Kim Cronk said at the time. He suggested the economic development and decommissioning agreements be reviewed by county attorney Scott Hayes and by Rick Hall of Barnes & Thornburg. If they find no issues, he suggested the county sign-off on the documents as soon as possible. Details associated with the Road Use Agreement were still being negotiated in early July.