County to propose tougher restructions for wind farms

Ogle County officials may soon may pass what some are calling the most restrictive wind farm ordinances in the state.

A subcommittee charged with revising the county's wind turbine ordinances finished its five-month review Tuesday.

"The subcommittee feels it has finished its charge. That concludes our work," said Bill Welty, chairman of the Subcommittee on Commercial Wind Energy Conversion Systems, at the close of the meeting.

Included in the new draft are setbacks nearly twice the state's longest and a noise pollution clause that requires all turbines to impose a marginal five decibel change on typical background sounds.

Industry representatives said the recommendations, if passed, effectively would end the wind farm business in Ogle County because it would be too difficult to find land parcels that fit the requirements.

"It would essentially be a moratorium," said Kevin Borgia, president of the Illinois Wind Energy Association. "That just closes down the county to any developer."

Setbacks proposed by the Wind Energy Conversion Systems subcommittee would prohibit builders from putting up wind turbines within a half-mile of residences that will have no turbine on their own properties, although it allows wind developers to negotiate with surrounding residents who can waive the regulation.

Welty said the proposals represent the culmination of five months of research and hearings, some of which lasted three hours or more, and represent the committee's best efforts to protect the health and safety of Ogle County residents.

"We've spent a lot of time on this, and heard a lot of testimony," Welty said. "It's in someone else's hands now."

The county's Planning and Zoning Committee is scheduled to review the proposal on Aug. 12, when it will decide whether to make any changes, send it back to subcommittee or send it the full Ogle County Board for review.

Among the other controversial changes is a noise pollution ordinance that would require monitoring of sound levels as measured around houses near wind turbines.

The sound ordinance requires county officials to measure ambient noise levels before turbines are turned on then hold turbine manufacturers accountable for increases in noise that exceed five decibels.

It effectively requires the turbines to operate at a whisper when monitored from within 100 feet of a house.

Borgia said the county should consider tax revenues when the full board reviews any proposed ordinance.

"Ogle County is walking away from a significant amount of new tax revenue at a time when state funding is late and some schools cannot depend on those payments," Borgia said.

To date, no wind farms have been built in Ogle County, although at least two developers are working on leases with landowners.

The county board approved the Baileyville Wind Farm in December of 2005, but the project was never started due to litigation that is still pending.

Representatives with Mainstream Renewable Power, which has proposed a wind farm that stretches from northeastern Lee into south-central Ogle County, could not be reached for comment.

Property tax revenues in Lee County, which already has nearly 200 wind turbines, are set to add up to roughly $2.5 million in coming years.

Some people who live among the turbines, however, have said property tax revenue cannot compensate for the nuisance they cause.