Hearings Continue on Horizon's Bright Stalk Project in McLean Co
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 9:13AM 
Project opponents had a chance to cast aspersions on Horizon's proposal to build the Bright Stalk project in McLean County Thursday night, the third night of hearings on the project. According to an article in the Pantagraph:
Members of the public concerned about a proposed wind farm near Lexington, Colfax and Chenoa got an opportunity to address the McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday.
The board is hearing a request by Horizon Wind Energy LLC for a special-use permit to build the Bright Stalk Wind Farm on about 37,800 acres in Lexington, Lawndale, Chenoa and Yates townships.
But some residents think adding a 223-turbine wind farm in close proximity to the existing Twin Groves Wind Farm could saturate the county and hurt agriculture.
“I am concerned with the amount of farmland covered currently with wind turbines and the percentage of tillable farmland that’s being developed,” said Amy Winterland of Colfax.
Kim Schertz, a frequent critic of wind farms, expanded on Winterland’s concerns.
“They did not consider the cumulative effect of having three wind farms literally stacked upon each other and how it will hamper the production of crops,” she said.
But it wasn't all big ideas and distorted facts, more level-headed individuals also spoke out in favor of the project:
Speaking in support of the project, Lee Klintworth of the Octavia Fire District said an additional $100,000 in annual taxes would pay for replacement of an outdated fire station.
“I see signs along the road, ‘We don’t want hog farms; we don’t want landfills; we don’t want plants,’” said Klintworth. “But I don’t see signs that we want better schools or better fire and ambulance services or better roads.” [...]
The hearing will resume at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Room 400 of the Government Center, 115 E. Washington St., Bloomington.
Anti-Wind, Kim Schertz, Project Updates
Reader Comments (2)
On " IWEA Rebuts Anti-Wind Group's Confused Screed Against Wind Power ":
Finally a rebuttal on the pro-wind side! Keep it up! Please try to include more specifics, though, like references and links, please. Like the 30% funding from the fed. I have not heard that before. Can you be more specific on the regulations?
For more information on the US Treasury Grant program: http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/recovery/Pages/1603.aspx