There are some people who will gain little from the project, yet still face potential light and noise pollution, along with clutter on the rural landscape. ...Those are the people the County Board must work to protect while still respecting the rights of landowners to put their property to its best and most productive use.

Impact on People Illinois

The DeWitt County Board's decisions Thursday night to expand the setback around wind farm turbine towers but not limit their height pleased a developer proposing such a project but left some residents unhappy.

Zoning/Planning Illinois

She was among about 70 people who attended the meeting of the ZBA, which recommended limiting the height of any tower to 499 feet ...also called for requiring a minimum distance of 2,000 feet between a tower and the nearest house. The current ordinance requires a setback of 1,500 feet.

Zoning/Planning Illinois

BLOOMINGTON — It's official: two wind farms are coming to northern McLean County.

General Illinois

Wind energy has been a contentious subject in Livingston County since Invenergy first filed an application to build a wind farm near Fairbury in 2014. While setbacks were increased countywide after the County Board acted on results from the 2016 general election referendum, the possibility of more wind turbines coming to the area, especially in the northeastern townships, remains an open question.

Zoning/Planning Illinois

Meeting will provide 'neighbor-to-neighbor' updates about wind ordinance

General Illinois

The McDonough County Board’s road and bridge committee voted Thursday to recommend approval of an agreement to hire an attorney to draw up a contract for road use in constructing wind turbines on area farmland.

General Illinois

A company spokesman says a major upgrade is underway, and 63 wind turbines will come down over the next two to three months. Some parts may be on the ground for some time. They will be replaced by fewer but larger turbines in coming months.

General Illinois

The board voted 10-8 to let Chicago-based alternative energy company Invenergy build its proposed McLean County Wind Energy Center near Chenoa and Lexington after board members failed repeatedly to change or delay the proposal as approved last month by the county's Zoning Board of Appeals.

General Illinois

The 120-day moratorium that was approved in October was set to expire soon. At the insistence of board member Tim Nuss of rural Roberts, the ban will not be lifted until the board approves a revised ordinance regulating wind farms.

Zoning/Planning Illinois

BLOOMINGTON — A proposal for McLean County's next wind farm still is on track — but with some minor changes.

Zoning/Planning Illinois

The Lexington City Council held a public discussion meeting in the high school gymnasium on Jan. 22 to get local feedback on Chicago-based Invenergy’s intent to construct, own and operate 18 wind turbines within the mile-and-a-half setback of the City of Lexington’s corporate limits.

General Illinois

Wind farms have become more noticeable in Central Illinois over the years. Some who live in view of the towers are annoyed -- they say they're interfering with basic utilities.

Impact on People Illinois

The DeWitt County Land Use Committee sent all of the proposed restrictions to the full county board for further discussion during their January 18 meeting.

Zoning/Planning Illinois

Trade Winds said the project, centered about 5 miles northwest of Clinton, would stretch across about 24,000 acres and involve about 200 individual landowners. ...But several DeWitt County residents are launching a campaign to stop the project before it even gets started.

General Illinois

Members of the public on Monday night urged Ford County Board members to consider, among other measures, the need to increase the minimum distance that wind turbines can be located from homes.

Zoning/Planning Illinois

“Our current strategy is to be ready for construction as early as the spring of 2019,” he said. The project was put on hold because of a bad economy and electric deregulation in Illinois, Swierczewski said.

General Illinois

For the second time in a month, the Ford County Board voted Monday night to place a moratorium on granting any future wind farm permits until the county’s permitting ordinance is  reviewed. Last month’s vote was taken without the specific action listed on the agenda for the meeting, so it was deemed invalid. But this time, the measure is legally binding.

Zoning/Planning Illinois

William Shay, the lead attorney for the alliance, said the court agreed with the Illinois Landowners Alliance, Farm Bureau and ComEd on the definition of public utility. "The Court noted that nothing stops Rock Island (Clean Line) from seeking to develop its project as a private facility, but it will not have public utility status, including the right to condemn landowner easements through eminent domain," he added.

Transmission Illinois Iowa

In a letter sent to residents who agreed to lease farmland for wind turbines, Chicago-based Mainstream Renewable Power says a more-restrictive county ordinance approved last year makes it too difficult to move forward with the six-year project.

General Illinois