While some tout benefits of wind to county, others point to problems

The debate over wind energy began percolating after Global Winds Harvest of Schenectady, N.Y., in partnership with Acciona Energy North America, started exploring the possibility of installing up to 100 generators, or possibly more, in northeast Adams County.

The company's representatives have secured leases from at least 150 families willing to allow wind turbines to be placed on their property.

Some people see nothing but positives in the prospect of having a major wind farm come to Adams County. One of those is Pete Pohlman, an energy specialist with the Great River Economic Development Foundation.

Several years ago, Pohlman started looking into the issue of wind energy and became sold on the potential economic benefits. He was getting ready to sent invitations to 10 major wind energy companies inviting them to check out Adams County when he discovered that Acciona was already here, quietly conducting wind studies and talking with landowners.

"This thing has all kinds of potential in creating some construction jobs and some permanent jobs, and what it does is it creates a huge tax base that could really help some of our rural schools," Pohlman said

Pohlman said a typical wind farm would create 200 or more construction jobs and 15 to 20 permanent jobs upon completion. And most of those would be high-paying jobs offering between $50,000 and $70,000 a year.

But the biggest benefit would be the tax revenue, which would be figured as real estate tax under current Illinois law.

Pohlman, who worked for AmerenCIPS for years until he retired and went into the energy consulting business, said the tax revenue from a single 1.5-megawatt wind turbine could amount to $10,000. At that rate, a 100-turbine wind farm could generate $1 million for local taxing bodies, with the bulk of that going to local school districts.

In addition, the landowners who sign leases would benefit from the annual revenue they would receive. Pohlman estimates this amount at roughly $500,000 alone for the first phase of a wind farm development. A possible second phase, involving up to 100 wind turbines, would generate another $500,000 in leases.

"That's just another injection of money" into the local economy, Pohlman said.

The potential extra revenue stream prompted the Adams County Farm Bureau's Board of Directors to go on record in support of wind farm development.

Shawn Valter, manager of the local Farm Bureau, said the board acted after hearing a public presentation from Bill York, the local energy consultant for Global Winds Harvest. The presentation "was very well received" by Farm Bureau members, Valter said.

A year ago, the Farm Bureau brought in an attorney who talked with local landowners about considerations when signing leases with wind farm developers. Valter acknowledged that many landowners were eager to sign because in many cases it will result in lease revenue of about $6,000 a year.

The Farm Bureau also likes the idea of seeing local taxing districts get an extra influx of revenue.

"In this day and age, property tax dollars are very scarce. And with the state funding being cut back, this is a great incentive for those school districts," Valter said.

The Farm Bureau also is backing wind energy because the organization is an advocate of the "25 by 25" movement, which calls for 25 percent of all energy consumption by the year 2025 to come from renewable sources.

"Wind energy is a nice component of that," he said.

But not everyone is convinced. Jeff Rasche of rural Camp Point has been voicing concerns about the wind energy ordinance approved in January by the County Board.

Rasche feels the ordinance does not offer enough protection to non-participants who don't want towering wind turbines within 1,000 feet of their home's foundation. He is pushing for longer setbacks.

He said complaints have been aired about noise from turbines; the visual impact on the rural setting; and issues involves "shadow flicker," which occurs in some places as the sun is setting or rising.

Rasche said there is "an emerging body of evidence" that suggests the closer a person lives to a turbine, the more likely health issues may develop, such as anxiety or sleep disorders. Pohlman counters that independent studies have determined that there are no ill effects.

Rasche has established a Web site -- www.adamscountywind.com -- to bring attention to the issue and to share information about the impact that wind turbines could have on people and the landscape.

These concerns have caught the attention of some members of the County Board, who voted last month to have the ordinance revisited.

Board member Matt Obert, D-5, who lives where a wind farm development is being considered, feels the board adopted the ordinance "way too fast." He's glad to see it getting another review.

"It should have been tabled so we could have studied it more upfront and given people some notice that we were even looking at it," he said.

Obert said a fear expressed by County Board members is that the county could "scare away" wind energy developers by making the ordinance too restrictive.

But he feels some changes may be warranted.

"I think there is some legitimacy to saying maybe our setbacks need to begin at the property line versus the foundation of somebody's house," he said.

Obert also feels the County Board hasn't studied the tax implications fully. He said the current state law, which assesses wind towers as real estate, will sunset in 2011 unless the Legislature extends the law. He said there are lobbying efforts under way to treat wind towers as personal property rather than real estate.

"If they get identified as personal property, then the only real estate is the massive amount of concrete that's stuck in the ground to support these things. So the taxes that you collect from them would be significantly less," he said.