Lee County zoning board approves wind turbine plan
By CHASE CASTLE - Shaw Newspapers
DIXON – Lee County is one step closer to hosting 18 new wind turbines, despite concerns from local residents who say the project is moving too quickly.
The county zoning board approved a special use permit Thursday, which means the only hurdles left for builders to clear are a full board vote Feb. 17, and approval from DeKalb County, where the company wants to build 133 turbines in portions of Afton, Clinton, Milan and Shabbona townships.
If the new proposal is approved by all, NextEra Energy Resources would, through subsidiary FPL Energy Illinois Wind, build, own and operate the turbines.
Robert Book is supervisor for Willow Creek Township, where 12 of the proposed turbines would be built. The other 6 would be in Alto Township.
“The entire project, I think, is more determined [by] DeKalb County’s passing, so I guess we respectfully ask that you delay any decision until DeKalb County [votes],” Book said. “I guess we should use their expertise, basically, before you would make any decisions.”
A public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19 in DeKalb County and the county board’s Planning and Zoning Committee will probably take it up in March. The full DeKalb County Board could vote on it in April, county officials have said.
About 70 people attended the Lee County hearing Thursday at the Old Lee County Courthouse. Representatives from NextEra reiterated the company’s complete responsibility for dismantling the turbines, even if the company were to go bankrupt, and reviewing tax benefits, which are estimated at roughly $165,000 a year for the next three decades.
In DeKalb County, NextEra estimates that the project would provide $42 million in expected property taxes and $50 million in payments to landowners during the next 30 years.
Project designer Tom Factor said Lee County’s setback variance for wind turbines should comfortably clear most concerns about noise emissions or shadow flicker, both of which are regulated by the state.
“We find that at 1,400 feet and further, we rarely if ever have anything which would exceed state noise standards ... which are very stringent in Illinois,” Factor said.
Factor said the same would be true for shadows cast by the turbines, which are built around a multitude of factors, including setting angles to minimize shadows. According to the state standard, Factor said, no spinning wind turbine can cast a shadow flicker on a home for more than 40 hours a year.
If approval is granted by both counties, NextEra would start work on access roads and underground cabling in May, NextEra spokeswoman Mary Wells said last month, and would install turbines starting in August. The company hopes to be operational by December, she added.
