Wind Farm a Tourist Attraction for Streator and LaSalle County

From an article in the Times of Ottawa:

A busload of mechanical engineering students looked toward the sky in amazement.

For many on the tour from Purdue University Calumet of Hammond, Ind., this was the first time they had seen a wind turbine, much less stood directly underneath one.

The students comprised just one of the many groups that utilize the private business tours conducted at Invenergy's Grand Ridge Wind Farm. The tours are geared toward students and public officials.

Streator City Council members and Tourism Director Ed Brozak, at past public meetings, said the wind farm is becoming not only a source of energy but also one of the leading suppliers of tourists to the area.

Streator Tourism promotes the wind tours on its website and in printed promotional material.

"People are coming from all over to see them," Brozak said. "It's becoming a popular attraction. We field calls every week asking about them."

With that, Brozak anticipates the city's restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations or hotels could benefit.

"Anytime we can bring people from out of town here, it's a positive for Streator," Brozak said. "They help our local businesses and contribute sales tax revenue."

Neighboring communities also could see a benefit from tourists. The Marseilles Chamber of Commerce said it has not received any reports from businesses benefiting from the tours.

Representatives from Invenergy said the wind turbines are of interest to an array of people, but most of them more casual, checking out the turbines themselves or stopping in to ask questions.

Organized tours are only available by appointment and not available to the general public, since the sites are working power plants.

"Some people stop by spur of the moment after noticing the turbines while driving on Interstate 80, with others making appointments for organized tours to see firsthand how we harvest clean energy," said Alissa Krinsky, spokeswoman for Invenergy.

The group from Purdue visited the wind farm as part of a lesson plan.

Chenn Zhou, mechanical engineering instructor, said her class has worked on turbine simulators and will build a model turbine.

"We came to Illinois to see the real thing," Zhou said.

Her class learned each turbine could be monitored or shut off from any one of the turbines.

Brozak is hoping to work with the wind companies in the future to continue these tours.

"We will help facilitate them any way we can," Brozak said. "It's a draw to the area."

Mainstream & MW Wind Unite Landowners in Bureau County

In an effort to help unite participating landowners in the proposed Walnut Ridge, Green River and County Line projects, Mainstream Renewable Power and Midwest Wind Energy held a dinner this week at the Green River Country Club near Walnut. According to an article in the LaSalle News Tribune:

Considering the complaints the wind farms’ opponents have voiced, developers said they wanted to show local landowners tied to each project that they’re not alone.

“This is about the community that we’re developing,” said Mainstream representative Keith Bolin. Local landowners who attended the dinner said they are pleased with the arrangements they have with developers.

“I have no complaints at all,” said Charles Meisenheimer, a Walnut Ridge landowner who lives on the same farm where he was born.

He’s not worried about the concerns some neighbors have raised about decreased property value or diminished television reception. He said he sees wind farm development as a win-win situation.

“I don’t know of any of us that wouldn’t appreciate some extra money with the price of gas and food and the other commodities that we have to purchase,” Meisenheimer said.[...]

Katherine Vick, a landowner in the Green River wind farm, said wind farms will bring more jobs to the community and mentioned Sauk Valley and Illinois Valley community colleges programs for future wind farm workers. The increased tax revenue the wind farms will bring in will benefit schools, libraries and fire districts, she said.

“This is all going to help our community,” Vick said.

And while some have complained the wind turbines mar the rural landscape, Vick said she likes watching them and finds them beautiful, an appreciation she may have inherited. “My parents are from Germany, and that was a big deal, the wind mills, back then, which now would be the wind turbines,” Vick said.

The Bureau County News covered the story as well, noting that the developers sought to dispell many of the fears and misinformation the small but vocal minority continues spreading about wind energy in the area. From the story:

“Folks, the opposition keeps telling you this is not going to happen and it’s a pipe dream,” Bolin said. “This is not about if it’s going to happen. The only question that should be in the landowners’ minds is ‘When?’”

One message that Bolin wanted to get out had to do with rumors the schools wouldn’t benefit from the wind farms because the state would just reduce its general state aid payments.

Bureau Valley Superintendent John Bute said it’s true the amount of general state aid received by a school district is dependent on local property values, and the more value in a district, the less state aid it receives.

However, Bute said the reduction would not be on a dollar for dollar basis. Instead, the district will receive about 40 cents less in state aid for every additional tax dollar generated.

In addition, the state is again behind in its payments to the schools, currently about $750,000 in the Bureau Valley district.

“We are so excited the landowners in the area are supporting the Green River project and the Walnut Ridge project,” Bute said.

The landowners at Monday’s meeting were all supportive of the projects.[...]

“God gave us the wind, and to use it as wind energy is the best,” Katherine Vick said. “I just think it’s a real good way to go.”

Horizon Returns Land to Morris Enterprise Zone

In a move that will help Seneca continue to incentivize new businesses, Horizon Wind Energy "returned" more than 100 acres of Enterprise Zone space to the city after determining it did not need the acreage for its Top Crop project.

Enterprise zones are special taxation areas that communities can designate to promote economic growth, and businesses locating in those areas receive special tax incentives. Almost any business can locate within an EZ, and communities often extend their zones to encompass high-value businesses, such as new manufacturing and recently, wind farms. But state law limits the size of EZs to no more than 15 square miles, meaning communities consider every acre of space in the zones to be extremely valuable.

When Horizon built the Top Crop project, they thought they would need more EZ acreage than they actually did. This week's move to give the acreage back will allow Seneca to use the space to incent other businesses in the future. According to a story in the Morris Daily Herald:

By unanimous vote Tuesday evening, the Seneca Village Council agreed to three ordinance amendments, which accept the return of  0.172 square miles to the Enterprise Zone created by the two counties in 1985.[...]

“The wind farm didn’t use all the property it was granted in their application, and is putting it back into the Enterprise Zone for someone else to use sometime,” Mayor David Spicer noted. “This was done at no cost to anyone.

Seneca village attorney Michael Mason noted today the Enterprise Zone, the result of an intergovernmental agreement between five communities in the two counties, can only encompass a maximum of 15 acres.

“And, we’re real close to that,” he said. “Taking their acres from Top Crop leaves us to use that for future zones.”

A similar agreement was reached unanimously by the Grundy County Board at its last meeting.
Top Crop applied for inclusion in the enterprise zone in 2009 to develop Phase 2 of a new wind farm of up to 135 wind turbines on farmland in Highland and Vienna townships in Grundy County, extending from the Kinsman/Verona area west to the line with La Salle County at Ransom, where Phase One of the project is located.

The two-county enterprise zone extends from south of Ottawa in La Salle County to Morris in Grundy County.[...]

Top Crop spokesman Dwight Farber said earlier that Illinois is “kind of the hotbed for wind energy activity.”

Lee Co Official Reacts to Goldwind's Acquisition of Shady Oaks Project

Though many in the industry heard last month that Goldwind USA had aquired the Shady Oaks Project in Lee County, a local newspaper in the area first reported the story this week, and a reaction from one local official is indicative that Goldwind is doing its part to keep the surrounding communities informed. According to an article in the Sterling Gazette (via iStockAnalyst.com):

A Chinese company as acquired a planned wind farm project in Lee County, but the previous owner will continue to play a central role, the companies announced.

Construction of the 71-turbine farm is expected to start later this year, said Chris Henkel, Lee County's zoning administrator.

Chicago-based Goldwind USA, the U.S. arm of Xingiang Goldwind Science and Technology Co., is acquiring the project from Mainstream Renewable Power.

Henkel said Mainstream informed the county of the change in ownership. He said he hadn't heard any indications of drastic changes in the project.

He said it was "very wise" of Mainstream to tell the county about the change, which he said promotes trust in the company.

The Shady Oaks project is one of two new new wind farms that will be built thanks to the recent renewable energy procurement event held by the Illinois Power Agency. In that solicitation, Shady Oaks won a PPA to supply power to ComEd beginning June 1, 2012.

Naperville's Green Power Pricing Program Examined

The Naperville Sun covered a commonly-asked question this week: how do RECs support wind farms and allow a home or business to claim their power is from a renewable source. According to the article:

Rather than purchasing renewable energy and adding it to Naperville's electricity supply, the Naperville Renewable Energy Program works by offsetting the high costs of generating renewable energy, like wind and solar, throughout a multi-state region.[...]

Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs, were devised as a way of making up that profit gap to make renewable energy profitable. While fossil fuels have only one output on the market -- the electricity they produce -- wind and solar producers have two outputs: the energy they produce, and RECs, essentially a proof of purchase for the environmental benefits of the energy.

RECs usually make up a portion of the difference between the cost to produce clean energy and the price at which it can be sold. Federal and state subsidies also prop up the costly-but-clean wind farms and solar installations.

In Naperville, "the program is currently 99 percent Illinois wind, and 1 percent Illinois solar," said [Naperville Renewable Energy Manager Lesley] McCain. Through Community Energy, the city buys RECs from projects like the Mendota Hills Wind Farm, about 60 miles away in Paw Paw, and the Illinois Solar Energy Association, of which McCain is also a board member.[...]

McCain said residents should look at RECs as one of three steps to a clean energy society, the first being energy efficiency and the second using renewable energy directly, but RECs are a critical component to advancing renewable energy. Green energy producers build their wind farms and solar installations knowing they can turn RECs into a revenue stream. Without them, she says, "the next one won't get built."

The program has been fairly popular, the article says:

Roughly 4,700 households and two dozen businesses participate in the Naperville Renewable Energy Program, which costs an optional $5 per 200 kilowatt hours added to participants' electricity bills that supports renewable energy projects.

While the article says some in Naperville are skeptical of the program, it's largely a balanced article that clearly explains what can be a complex concept for many interested in buying renewable energy. But regardless, many of those concerns will be assuaged beginning next year:

That will change in 2011, when Naperville begins buying its energy from the Illinois Municipal Electricity Agency, instead of [the power marketing arm of] J. Aron and Goldman Sachs. IMEA tracks where it purchases electricity from, which means starting next year, Napervillians can be sure a portion of the electricity powering their lights is coming from the newly constructed Lee DeKalb Wind Farm, just south of DeKalb.

Highland Community College Receives Donation for Turbine Tech Training Program

Highland Community College received a $21,000 donation from Rockford-based SPX Hydraulic Technologies last week, providing the school's wind turbine technician students with high performance hydraulic pumps, wrenches and other tools. According to a story on WIFR:

The SPX Power Team equipment allows the students to train on industry specific tools as they complete the Wind Turbine Technician associate of applied science degree and certificate programs. “These tools give students first hand experience with the type of equipment they will be using when they leave the program to work in the industry,” according to wind tech instructor, David Vrtol. “We are very excited about the addition of these high quality tools to the program.”

The donation includes an electric torque wrench pump, 2 hydraulic torque wrenches, 2 hydraulic hand pumps and several associated components.

“We appreciate the generous donation,” said business and technology dean, Scott Anderson. “This is not our first partnership with industry-specific companies and I certainly don’t think it will be the last. I have been thrilled with the cooperation we have received from the wind energy industry and associated companies.”

According to Steve Jones, product application specialist for SPX Hydraulics, “We are quite impressed with the program here at HCC and wanted to do what we could to support educational efforts that are training workers for the jobs of the future.”

The HCC program is one of three in the state training turbine technicians for careers in operations and maintenance, along with Sauk Valley Community College, and Richland Community College.

Landowner Information Sessions Continue to be Popular

As projects move forward in several Illinois counties, the Illinois Wind Working Group's landowner information seminars continue to be popular, and one recent session in Ottawa drew nearly 30 people, says an article in the Ottawa-based Times:

Presented by the University of Illinois Extension Service and the Illinois Wind Working Group, the forum presented university educators and industry professionals who offered a complete overview of timelines for wind farm development, agricultural considerations, wind economics and lease/contract information.

Stanley Solomon, University of Illinois engineering technology educator from East Peoria, informed attendees on the varied particulars of long-term leases, which need to be understood before signing a contract with a wind energy developer. Step by step, Solomon traced the development from how to react if approached by companies wanting to lease land to actual construction of the huge wind turbines on properties.

"While there are definite benefits to wind energy, the considerable impacts on agriculture and farmsteads must be part of the decision to sign any agreement," Solomon explained.

He said, "Limitations on the number of towers and locations which might affect future construction of farm or other buildings, aerial crop spray considerations, possible subsurface drainage tiles that might by impacted are just some of the factors which should be closely examined."

Peoria attorney William Shay clarified the many legal aspects involved between wind project developers and property owners. From taxes and liabilities to land intrusion and compensation, Shay told the group of the rights and responsibilities of all parties in setting up such wind turbine operations. He spoke of developer payment of landowner transaction fees and duration of lease/easement terms.

The sessions clearly and fairly communicate many of the issues that landowners need to know when negotiating a lease with a wind developer, without being alarmist or unreasonable. More information is available here.