No Lee-DeKalb Windfarms » DeKalb http://nowindfarms.com/blog FPL Lee-DeKalb Wind Farm Education Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:49:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc en hourly 1 DeKalb County wind farm lawsuit moves forward http://nowindfarms.com/blog/dekalb-county-wind-farm-lawsuit-moves-forward/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/dekalb-county-wind-farm-lawsuit-moves-forward/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:21:41 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=1034 The wind farm was the subject of a Tribune story this March that highlighted the health complaints of residents living near the structures. Residents who live near the turbines, which are about 400 feet high from blade to tip, have complained of sleep disturbances, illnesses and vertigo from strobe-like flashes produced by the whirling blades. On Wednesday, Judge Michael Cowell of the 16th Judicial Circuit Court denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
June 11, 2010 by Julie Wernau in Chicago Tribune
A Circuit Court judge cleared the way this week for a lawsuit filed by a group of DeKalb County residents who claim 126 wind turbines are there illegally and want them torn down.

The wind farm was the subject of a Tribune story this March that highlighted the health complaints of residents living near the structures. Residents who live nearthe turbines, which are about 400 feet high from blade to tip, have complained of sleep disturbances, illnesses and vertigo from strobe-like flashes produced by the whirling blades.

On Wednesday, Judge Michael Cowell of the 16th Judicial Circuit Court denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the wind farm’s developer, FPL Energy Illinois Wind LLC (a subsidiary of NextEra Energy), the DeKalb County Board and landowners who have agreed to lease land for turbines and transmission lines. In a 15-page opinion, the judge said the residents complaints’ had the legal standing necessary for the case to move forward.

Residents living near the turbines say the DeKalb County Board allowed a special zoning permit for the turbines, although it did not meet the board’s own definitions of a permitted use. They also say the board failed to issue a permit within the time period allowed under state statutes, and that they did not fully consider the impact the turbines would have on  surrounding residents.

“Our complaint seeks to have the turbines removed,” said Richard Porter, attorney for the residents’ group. “If the zoning that was issued was void, they were put there improperly.”

The defendants in the case have 28 days to respond to the complaint. Porter said he plans to move forward with discovery motions and depositions of the DeKalb County Board members and FPL employees related to the case. A status conference has been scheduled for Aug.12.

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/dekalb-county-wind-farm-lawsuit-moves-forward/feed/ 0 Wind turbines stir up bad feelings, health concerns in DeKalb County http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-turbines-stir-up-bad-feelings-health-concerns-in-dekalb-county/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-turbines-stir-up-bad-feelings-health-concerns-in-dekalb-county/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:12:31 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=995 Months have passed since anyone has waved hello to one another in Waterman or Shabbona in rural DeKalb County. Some people claim they’ve even stopped going to church to avoid having to talk to former friends. “It’s gone. The country way of living is gone,” declares Susan Flex, who lives in Waterman with her husband and their nine children. The animosity stems from the greenest of energy sources: a wind farm.
March 13, 2010 by Julie Wernau in Chicago Tribune
Proponents point to reduced dependence on foreign oil, say no evidence of physiological harm
Months have passed since anyone has waved hello to one another in Waterman or Shabbona in rural DeKalb County. Some people claim they’ve even stopped going to church to avoid having to talk to former friends.

“It’s gone. The country way of living is gone,” declares Susan Flex, who lives in Waterman with her husband and their nine children.

The animosity stems from the greenest of energy sources: a wind farm.

The turbines started arriving last summer, at a rate of two a day, their parts trucked in on flatbeds. Today 126 turbines dot the county, with another 19 just over the border in Lee County. They have been making enough electricity since December to power 55,000 homes, roughly twice the needs of Oak Park.

DeKalb County’s efforts appear to be in line with President Barack Obama’s push for the U.S. to produce 25 percent of its energy needs with renewable resources by 2025. Illinois has added more wind power last year than all but four states.

Yet the story playing out just an hour and half from Chicago is one of policy-meets-reality. While the idea of creating power from the wind sounds ideal, the massive structures that have gone up have dramatically affected the people who live there, country life and the landscape.

Each turbine stands about 400 feet tall from the tips of their blades to the ground – roughly the height of the Wrigley Building in Chicago. Infighting over the turbines has pitted families against landowners, farmers against friends, and even family members against one another.

Proponents are landowners and farmers who say they want to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil. They also point out that the money leasing land for a turbine is more than what they collect renting to corn and soybean farmers.

The turbines, which are assessed at a million dollars each, represent the largest investment made in the county, said Ruth Anne Tobias, DeKalb County Board chairman. And the expected annual tax revenue is unprecedented: $1.45 million.

Steve Stengel, a spokesman for turbine-owner NextEra Energy Resources, a unit of FPL Group, whose holdings include Florida Power & Light Co., said $50 million in payments is expected to be made to landowners over the 30-year life of the project.

But such windfalls haven’t assuaged people who claim the turbines have harmed their health. They say noise from turbines is disrupting sleep, and they blame the strobe-like flashes produced by the whirling blades in sunlight – “shadow flicker” – for everything from vertigo to migraine headaches.

A group of 36 people who live near the turbines has sued DeKalb County and 75 landowners who leased land for the turbines. They claim the county illegally granted zoning variances and want the turbines taken down. NextEra is seeking to dismiss the suit based on “vague allegations of hypothetical harms.”

Ken Andersen, a county board member who voted to allow the turbines to be built, says he is trying to understand the people voicing concerns. One man, he said, called at 6 a.m. and told him a turbine that sounded like a 747 jet engine was keeping him awake. Andersen said he got out of bed and drove over to listen for himself.

“I went to this man’s yard,” Andersen said. “I made more noise walking across the crunchy snow.” The turbines, he said, “were making their whoosh, whoosh, whoosh noise.”

There is debate over whether there are links between the turbines and health problems. In December, an expert panel, which included doctors, hired by the American Wind Energy Association and the Canadian Wind Energy Association, national trade associations for the industry, concluded there is “no evidence that the audible or sub-audible sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects.”

But Dr. Nina Pierpont, a board-certified pediatrician in Malone, N.Y., who has spent the last four years studying so-called Wind Turbine Syndrome, insists not enough studies have been conducted to rule out any connection between turbine noise and flicker shadow with health complaints.

Pierpont said low-frequency sounds from turbines can throw off a person’s sense of balance and cause unconscious reactions similar to car sickness. Sleep can also be disrupted. She said the feeling is similar to when people awake in fear, with a jolt and a racing heart.

Ben Michels’ friends say he may have the worst of it. Five turbines stand in a line behind his home, the nearest 1,430 feet away; the county restricts turbines from being any closer than that.

“I never had problems sleeping,” said Michels, a Vietnam War veteran. “I went to the Veterans Administration and they put me on sleeping pills. They had to continually upgrade them because they weren’t working.”

Michels, who has raised goats for 20 years and averaged one death per year, said nine have died since December. Autopsies didn’t reveal anything physically wrong with them. But he said veterinarians told him the goats may have suffered from stress. “Common sense tells me, it’s got to have something to do with the turbines,” Michels said. Other farmers say the turbines have spooked their horses and other animals.

NextEra, which has more than 70 wind farms in 17 states and two Canadian provinces, is used to such controversies, Stengel said.

“As you move to more heavily populated areas, you would see more – I don’t want to say opposition – but you would certainly have more people having questions and issues that needed to be resolved,” Stengel said.

DeKalb County, with a population of more than 100,000, is more densely populated than some areas where wind farms are located. NextEra chose the area, in part, for its proximity to Chicago, which benefits from the power those turbines produce, said John DiDonato, vice president of Midwest wind development for NextEra.

NextEra said 147.5 megawatts of energy produced by the DeKalb-Lee wind farm is distributed in 13 states and the District of Columbia, including Chicago and DeKalb County. Another 70 megawatts is sold to a consortium of 39 municipal electric utilities, for customers in and around northern and central Illinois.

Because the power from the turbines flows to areas of the greatest need, little goes to where it’s produced. That irony was highlighted on Christmas Eve when the lights went out in Waterman and Shabbona due to an ice storm and didn’t turn back on again for four days in some places. Meanwhile, the turbines kept cranking power to homes and businesses hundreds of miles away.

Mark Anderson, who lives in Park Ridge and hosts two turbines on investment property he owns in Waterman, said the turbines protect farmland from urban sprawl.

For David Halverson, who leased land for two turbines in Malta, said it’s a matter of national policy – not giving U.S. dollars to foreign oil.

“I am so pro-wind that I would let them put them up for nothing,” Halverson said.

There’s also the economics. Each turbine, which takes up about 3 acres total, pays Halverson about $9,000 per year, he said. That compares with the going rate of about $180 per acre per year to lease farmland in DeKalb County, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Yet not everyone who could have profited from the turbines did so.

Ken and Lois Ehrhart originally agreed to allow NextEra to run a power line through their property in Shabbona but then changed their minds. Leasing part of their 320 acres would have provided money to pay off a large hospital bill.

“I says nothing doing,” recalled Ken Ehrhart, who raises soybeans, wheat and corn. “We’re not the highfliers for all the modern ideas.”

Now Ehrhart said he is sure he made the right decision. Ehrhart said he also suffers headaches and nausea from shadow flicker from nearby turbines.

Opponents say it’s difficult to fight what has been held up as an answer to the planet’s energy needs.

“This is a very politically correct thing going on right now, and to say you’re opposed to a renewable energy source is like saying you don’t like mom and apple pie,” said Steve Rosene, who lives in Shabbona. “I used to go out in my front yard in a swing and just watch the sunset,” he said.

Mary Murphy, who hangs her clothes on the line instead of using the dryer, recycles and describes herself as a green person, says the turbines represent “green money” not “green energy.”

Others are so fed up they’re ready to pack up.

Donna Nilles said she has experienced migraine headaches and nausea from the shadow flicker from 22 turbines she can see from her home. She says that red lights atop the turbines have turned the night sky into “an airport” and that her six horses are terrified by noise from the turbines.

“I want out of this state, out of this county as soon as I can,” she said.

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-turbines-stir-up-bad-feelings-health-concerns-in-dekalb-county/feed/ 0 Lee County Informed hosts wind turbine forum http://nowindfarms.com/blog/lee-county-informed-hosts-wind-turbine-forum/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/lee-county-informed-hosts-wind-turbine-forum/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:50:14 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=952 ASHTON — A group of more than 100 area residents gathered at the Mills and Petrie Building on Saturday afternoon to hear the negative impact of having wind turbines in the area. A group of representatives from the DeKalb area, as well as attorney Rich Porter spoke to those gathered for more than two hours.

» Translations available on the toolbar at the bottom «


DeKalb residents who have been battling with wind turbine companies since 2003 said their presentation was to educate the citizens on the adverse effects they’ve personally experienced. The group has continued their efforts since the turbines went online in December and are seeking litigation.

“It sounds like a 747 parked in your backyard,” rural Shabbona resident Mel Hass said about the sound of the turbines.

Another rural Shabbona resident, Mary Murphy, explained the sound at night like a dryer with a shoe in it, right outside her bedroom.

Hinshaw & Culbertson Attorney Rich Porter who opened the informational meeting with a presentation called, “Don’t Get Blown Over By a Wind Farm,” said a study has compared the noise to a leaky faucet in the middle of the night.

Though the panel of DeKalb County residents admit some of their complaints don’t occur around the clock, they said problems are affecting their everyday lives.

Others like rural Waterman resident Ron Flex said the turbines have made he and his family physically ill since being turned on. Flex said his wife became nauseous the first day they were turned on. Something he attributes to the shadow flicker from the rotating of the propellers.

Shadow flicker occurs when the sun is at an angle to produce a large shadow from the propeller of a wind turbine as it rotates around. The repetition of the shadow fading in and out is considered an annoyance.

Noise seemed to be an overwhelming complaint from each of the speakers.

Porter said that even though no noise seems present when standing below one, the turbines create a noise short distances away and can sometimes be amplified when inside a home.

Also included in the list of complaints with the turbines are lower property values, speculation about tax revenue, the inability to negotiate the contracts with the companies, and negative effects on livestock and other wildlife.

Porter urged local officials to adopt special use ordinances that deal specifically with wind turbines.

“You should be doing something about your ordinances,” he said. “There are a variety of developers circling your county.”

Speakers also urged attendees to educate themselves whether they were considering allowing the turbines on their properties.

Porter warned the crowd to be very skeptical of what they hear about tax revenue being a major benefit for schools. Taxation for the turbines as currently exists expires in 2011 and he warned there is always the possibility of them becoming tax exempt because of their portrayal as green technology.

Speaker and DeKalb County resident Tammy Duriavich added that people need to stop labeling areas with turbines as wind farms and view them as industrial.

“If you can’t plant it, harvest it, breed it…it’s not farming,” she said.

Duriavich explained the group doesn’t oppose renewable energy, but said she believes the turbines are not a good example of efficient green technology because of how much land they take out of crop production and for various other reasons.

“We’re not against renewable energy,” she said. “We just think it could be done responsibly.”

Several elected officials from the area were present to hear what they had to say.

Attempts by Brad Lila, of Renewable Energy Sources in Ashton, to point out differences between the companies were cut short. Presenters claimed the audience was there to hear the other side of the story.

For the complete article see the 03-10-2010 issue.

Credit: Ashton Gazette, www.ashtongazette.com 12 March 2010

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/lee-county-informed-hosts-wind-turbine-forum/feed/ 0 FPL Energy Illinois Wind – DeKalb Property Value Guarantee http://nowindfarms.com/blog/fpl-energy-illinois-wind-property-value-guarantee/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/fpl-energy-illinois-wind-property-value-guarantee/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:50:00 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=892 There has been a lot of talk about the Property Value Guarantee Agreement from FPL Energy Illinois Wind, LLC ( referenced simply as FPL further in this discussion). This agreement applies to property that is within 3/4 of a mile of the base of any wind tower that is part of the Wind Energy Center in DeKalb County (Ordinance No, 2009-05). No more talk, just the plain truthful facts. It’s time to set the record straight and show what the document actually states.

First, here is the “Property Value Guarantee Agreement” as it was signed off by Dean Gosselin, Vice President of FPL on 11/03/09. The  property owners names have been removed for privacy.  Next, we have the presentation of Ruth Anne Tobias, DeKalb County Board Chair. The presentation and the Q&A session for the Siting, Zoning & Taxing Wind Farms in Illinois Conference was held 2/24/2010, in Peoria, IL. The video and slides are available for your review.


videoVideo: 2/24/2010 Property Value Guarantees Panel:
Ruth Anne Tobias – Presentation/Q&A


videoVideo: 2/24/2010 Property Value Guarantees Panel:
Ruth Anne Tobias & others – Q&A

So, what are we to believe? Let’s take a look at what Tobias has to say.

According to the NortherStar interview on 1/29/10 by Demarcus Robinson:
“DeKalb County negotiated a property value guarantee within 1.5 to .75 of a mile to a turbine,” Tobias said.

Let’s refer to Tobias’ presentation on 2/24/2010.

Take a look at Slide 2 on Page 134:
” Homeowners within 3/4 mile of a turbine ”
” lower price than expected in 3 mos – FPL pays difference… ”

Take a look at Page 137:
” http://dekalbcounty.org/PLanning/windfarm.html ”
” Look for ‘Ordinance’ with conditions (#14) and PVG details within ‘Exhibit D’ ”

Compare the information Tobias presents against the actual document, and you now have a different story. Follow Tobias’ link to the document and you end up looking at a map, not PVG details. So you will need to look at an authentic “Property Value Guarantee Agreement” document.

In this document there is no mention of mos, it’s all in days, either 30 or 180. 30 days regarding notification and 180 days in relation to the property. Here are the facts:

Section 7: “that the Property will be so listed until the occurrence of either the (i) sale of the Property or (ii) expiration of a period of 180 days;”

Section 8: “for a period of 180 days, not to accept any offer below the ASKING PRICE without the express and written approval of the Guarantor.”

Section 10: “within 180 days of listing the Property for sale,”

Section 11.b: “after 180 days of listing the Property for sale,”

Section 12: “during the 180 days of the property being on the market,”

This kind of gross error is inexcusable. How could Tobias, DeKalb County Board Chair and noted conference speaker be so irresponsible and misleading? It makes you wonder if she ever looked at the document and seriously question anything else she has to say.

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/fpl-energy-illinois-wind-property-value-guarantee/feed/ 0 Wind farm 
foes revise complaint http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-farm-%e2%80%a8foes-revise-complaint/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-farm-%e2%80%a8foes-revise-complaint/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:34:06 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=1024 The lawsuit claims the county shouldn’t have considered FPL’s January 2009 application, because a special use must be provided for by ordinance before it can be considered. The application requested a special use permit for a wind energy conversion system, according to the complaint.

Wind farm 
foes revise complaint

By KATE SCHOTT kschott@shawnews.com Shaw News Service

SYCAMORE – A group of residents has filed an amended complaint with the state’s 16th Judicial Circuit, again asking a judge to find that the De-Kalb County Board wrongfully granted a special-use permit to the energy company that has erected 100-plus wind turbines in Lee and DeKalb County.

“Before, we just made the statements,” said Mel Hass, a spokesman for anti-wind farm group Citizens for Open Government. “This time, we’ve gotten a little more specific.”

The amended complaint, filed Wednesday, asks that the wind farm be shut down and the turbines dismantled, DeKalb County State’s Attorney John Farrell said.

The initial lawsuit was filed in July against the county, the 24 county board members and Florida Power & Light Energy Illinois Wind LLC, the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources.

That lawsuit was dismissed Dec. 9 by Judge Michael Colwell because it lacked factual evidence, but Citizens for Open Government was given 28 days to amend its complaint.

The lawsuit stems from the June decision by the DeKalb County Board to grant NextEra permission to build and operate 119 turbines in Afton, Clinton, Milan and Shabbona townships. NextEra since has built and begun to operate a 145-turbine wind farm that straddles the DeKalb-Lee county line.

While the amended complaint elaborates on the claims made by the group, Citizens for Open Government attorney Rick Porter noted the filing also includes all of the landowners – more than 100 – who have a turbine on their property as defendants.

“It’s nothing we intended to do,” said Hass, who said the group was told by the county, FPL and the judge that the complaint wasn’t filed properly because it didn’t include the landowners, who also have an interest in the outcome of any legal action.

Farrell said he was not surprised by the amended complaint or that it named the landowners as defendants, since the judge had advised the citizens group that they include them.

The lawsuit claims the county shouldn’t have considered FPL’s January 2009 application, because a special use must be provided for by ordinance before it can be considered. The application requested a special use permit for a wind energy conversion system, according to the complaint.

County officials have said the project is allowed under a special use clause that permits “essential service structures” and those related to public use.

Other points made in the lawsuit include:

– That the permit application was incomplete because FPL, among other things, failed to identify a specific tract of land, the specific locations of where the turbines would be located or a site plan showing the locations and uses of buildings or other structures.

– That the process leading up to the decision was unlawful because state law required the county board to make a decision on the wind farm within 30 days of the last public hearing. That hearing was May 12, and the board made its decision 36 days later on June 17, according to the complaint.

– That the county board improperly considered evidence not submitted to the hearing officer, noting that FPL had private meetings with individual board members, arranged site visits to other wind farms for board members, and corresponded directly with board members via e-mail.

– That the Open Meetings Act was violated because county officials and board members were exchanging e-mails regarding the wind farm application, the public hearing process and their thoughts on the proposal.

County Board Chairwoman Ruth Anne Tobias, DeKalb County Planning Director Paul Miller and County Administrator Ray Bockman referred calls for comment to Farrell. A spokeswoman for NextEra Energy Resources did not immediately return phone calls for comment.

Farrell said he received the complaint Friday and was reviewing it. There will be meetings next week to determine the county’s next step, he said, which could be to file a motion to dismiss the complaint, or to prepare an answer to the amended complaint.

“It’s unclear what we are going to do at this point,” Farrell said.

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-farm-%e2%80%a8foes-revise-complaint/feed/ 0 Shadow Flicker Blues II http://nowindfarms.com/blog/shadow-flicker-blues-ii/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/shadow-flicker-blues-ii/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:46:24 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=865 Wondering what turbine shadow flicker looks like. Check out the video from our home.
This was our New Years day gift, courtesy of the DeKalb County Board.


videoVideo: 8:42 AM

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/shadow-flicker-blues-ii/feed/ 0 Shadow Flicker Blues http://nowindfarms.com/blog/shadow-flicker-blues/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/shadow-flicker-blues/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:05:31 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=834 Today’s shadow flicker is brought to you courtesy of the DeKalb County Board.

The turbines are operational now, and we have experienced first hand shadow flicker. I’m an optimistic realist, but no longer optimistic regarding shadow flicker. This is a small portion of over 45 minutes of shadow flicker that occurred in our home this morning.


videoVideo: 8:42 AM

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/shadow-flicker-blues/feed/ 0 DeKalb Board Meeting 7 PM 6/27/2009 http://nowindfarms.com/blog/dekalb-board-meeting-7-pm-6272009/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/dekalb-board-meeting-7-pm-6272009/#comments Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:00:17 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=817 DeKalb Board Meeting 7 PM 6/27/2009

It’s discouraging to see local government actually vote according to what they want instead of considering the desires of the impacted parties. The DeKalb board approved the turbines for DeKalb county. Check out the comment about how the few must suffer for the good of the rest.


videoVideo: 6/27/2009 07 PM

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/dekalb-board-meeting-7-pm-6272009/feed/ 0 DeKalb Zoning Board Meeting 5/27/2009 http://nowindfarms.com/blog/dekalb-zoning-board-meeting-5272009/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/dekalb-zoning-board-meeting-5272009/#comments Sat, 30 May 2009 14:39:43 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=798 DeKalb Zoning Board Meeting 7 PM 5/27/2009.

Amazing to see so little discussion on issues so important.


videoVideo: 5/27/2009 07:51 PM


videoVideo: 5/27/2009 08:02 PM

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/dekalb-zoning-board-meeting-5272009/feed/ 1 Committee approves permit for wind farm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/committee-approves-permit-for-wind-farm/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/committee-approves-permit-for-wind-farm/#comments Sat, 30 May 2009 14:20:47 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=794 DeKalb County is one step closer to seeing more than 100 wind turbines erected on its landscape after the county board planning and zoning committee voted unanimously Wednesday night to grant a conditional special-use permit to NextEra Energy Resources that would allow the company to build the turbines.

About 100 people attended the meeting in the 285-seat Jenkins Auditorium at Kishwaukee College, many of them adamant opponents to the wind project. No public comment was allowed at the meeting, in keeping with county board policy of not allowing comments on topics that were already subject to a public hearing, said committee chairman Ken Andersen, R-Sycamore. Andersen noted that approximately 26 hours of public testimony have been taken on the subject over the course of two public hearings.

County planner Paul Miller read through a list of 34 conditions staff recommends be tied to approval of the special-use permit. Among the conditions were a requirement for building and site development permits for each turbine, a bond to decommission turbines, a guarantee to offset additional costs for crop spraying, setbacks from structures and property lines, an arbitration process and a property value guarantee.

The committee amended the property value guarantee to give property owners the right to request a third appraisal if they are not happy with a property appraisal and to require NextEra to buy a home at fair market value if it does not sell within six months and an independent appraiser confirms it is because of the wind farm.

The committee agreed to a proposal by Pat Vary, D-DeKalb, to reduce the number of hours a residence can be subjected to “shadow flicker” – a phenomenon in which the shadow of the turning blades creates a strobe-like effect – from 40 hours per year to 30 hours per year.

“I think there’s been enough discussion about shadow flicker, enough concern about it, that we need to cut down the amount of time anyone is subjected to it,” she said.

The company submitted its proposal in early January, and a February public hearing was postponed because the venue was too small. A March 21 hearing lasted nearly 19 hours, and hearing officer David Dockus recommended the committee not approve the permit because of several concerns with the proposal. NextEra submitted supplemental information to address the concerns, and Dockus recommended approval of the proposal after a two-day hearing May 11 and 12.

NextEra, a subsidiary of Florida Power & Light, has proposed a total of 151 turbines for the project. Of those, 119 are in unincorporated DeKalb County and in Afton, Clinton, Milan and Shabbona townships. Other turbines are proposed for Lee County and the village of Shabbona, both of which have approved them, and for the village of Lee, which has not acted on the proposal.

The special-use permit request is scheduled to be heard by the county board June 17.

By Dana Herra

Daily Chronicle

27 May 2009

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/committee-approves-permit-for-wind-farm/feed/ 0 May DeKalb public hearing videos http://nowindfarms.com/blog/may-dekalb-public-hearing-videos/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/may-dekalb-public-hearing-videos/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 03:06:15 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=783 DeKalb public hearing videos from 9 AM – 10 PM 5/11/2009 and 9 AM – 1PM 5/12/2009.
These videos were taken from the rear side of the Auditorium.
Yes, the meeting actually went for another day and a half.


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 09:53 AM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 10:32 AM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 11:36 AM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 12:07 PM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 2:07 PM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 2:59 PM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 4:06 PM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 4:07 PM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 7:52 PM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 8:45 PM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 9:37 PM


videoVideo: 5/11/2009 10:01 PM


videoVideo: 5/12/2009 9:52 AM


videoVideo: 5/12/2009 10:26 AM


videoVideo: 5/12/2009 11:37 AM


videoVideo: 5/12/2009 12:27 PM


videoVideo: 5/12/2009 12:28 PM


videoVideo: 5/12/2009 FPL Closing Statements

Audio: 5/12/2009 FPL Closing Statements
download audio

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/may-dekalb-public-hearing-videos/feed/ 0 Wind farm hearing continues http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-farm-hearing-continues/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-farm-hearing-continues/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 15:49:05 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=778 Much of the early session’s testimony was dominated by attorneys and an expert witness in acoustics, who testified that wind turbines generate dangerous levels of low-frequency noise that can have a negative effect on health. Several residents of wind farms in other states also offered testimony, saying the turbines have negatively affected their quality of life.

Wind farm hearing continues

DeKALB – A public hearing for a proposed wind farm that an energy company wants to build in the county will reconvene today so more testimony can be heard.

At least 100 people were at the hearing Monday, which started at 9 a.m. in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium in the Holmes Student Center on the campus of Northern Illinois University. Another 100 people attended an evening session of the hearing, which started at 7 p.m. and ended around 10 p.m. Today’s hearing will start at 9 a.m. and will allow those who did not get to speak Monday a chance to have their say.

The hearings center on a proposal by NextEra Energy Resources, which wants to build and operate a 151-turbine wind-energy plant; 133 turbines would be built in Afton, Clinton, Milan and Shabbona townships. Eighteen more turbines would be in Lee County.

Monday’s public hearing was the third to be scheduled on the wind farm proposal. A Feb. 19 public hearing was canceled because of inadequate space at the chosen venue, and the rescheduled hearing March 21 lasted nearly 19 hours.

After that hearing, hearing officer David Dockus made a recommendation against the proposal to the county board’s Planning and Zoning Committee. NextEra has added new information to its application for a special-use permit to address some of those concerns, which the committee determined required a new public hearing.

Dockus made it clear as he opened the first of Monday’s two hearings that testimony from the March hearing still stands and that he was interested only in hearing testimony regarding new information.

Specifically, the new documents include a property value guarantee for properties within three-quarters of a mile of a turbine, agreements to repair any damage incurred to roads or drainage tiles by construction of the turbines, posting of a $3.5 million security at the beginning of construction to pay for the cost of decommissioning the turbines, an agreement to pay taxes using the current tax formula even if wind farms are eventually exempted from property tax obligations, and a formal process for dispute resolution.

Much of the early session’s testimony was dominated by attorneys and an expert witness in acoustics, who testified that wind turbines generate dangerous levels of low-frequency noise that can have a negative effect on health. Several residents of wind farms in other states also offered testimony, saying the turbines have negatively affected their quality of life.

The biggest concerns expressed by the seven county residents who spoke in the six-hour early session were potential impacts on property values and health.

“For most families, their biggest asset is their home. If its value declines due to the economy, changes in zoning or a negative impact from a neighboring parcel, that is a matter of great concern,” said Beth Einsele, a Shabbona resident and real estate agent.

Shabbona resident Mark Johnson said he had concerns for the potential effect noise from the turbines might have on a chronic health condition and the impact they would have on his property value. He said he feels NextEra has not been genuine in its claims of trying to be a good neighbor.

“Neighbors talk to each other,” he said. “No one from Florida Power & Light has ever come to me, shook my hand and said, ‘We’d like to talk to you.’ All they do is talk to people they want something from.”

Speakers at the evening hearing also focused on health issues and property value concerns, as well as concerns about the ability to crop dust near the turbines and how the land would look if the wind farm is approved.

Marcia Dempsey, a Waterman resident, said during her evening testimony that it would be good that temporary jobs would result from the wind farm. But she noted that people like her family, which has lived in the area for 100 years, would have to live with the turbines forever. She said there would be no turbines in the back yards of county board members, but noted they are the ones who would vote on the proposal.

“This is a governmental, political, green movement,” she said. “It’s all about the green – the green, almighty dollar.”

Not everyone objects to the proposal. Alfred Aspengren, of Shabbona, said the Shabbona Business Association as well as community residents support the turbines and the “clean, renewable energy” that they would produce.

What’s Next?

The public hearing on changes to NextEra Energy’s proposed wind farm is scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Carl Sandburg Auditorium in the Holmes Student Center on the campus of Northern Illinois University, at the corner of Lucinda Avenue and Normal Road in DeKalb.

By Dana Herra

Daily Chronicle

12 May 2009

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-farm-hearing-continues/feed/ 0 Why people clam up about wind turbines http://nowindfarms.com/blog/why-people-clam-up-about-wind-turbines/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/why-people-clam-up-about-wind-turbines/#comments Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:50:05 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=771 Why people clam up about wind turbines

I am writing in response to the lead story in the April 16 edition of the Telegraph titled “Turbines divide neighbors.” These wind companies still have everyone fooled. That wind farm will not produce an average 226 megawatts. As I stated in a previous letter, the average output will be about 50 megawatts. It will not power 55,000 homes.

The article states very few people would talk. There’s a reason for that. Once a landowner signs a lease to have a windmill, they can talk about it only to family members, a lawyer, or other landowners involved with the same company.

They forfeit the right to complain if there is an unforeseen problem. Neighbors who sign up for money are legally silenced, too.

What do the windmill companies have to hide? Why would they take away your due process if these things are so great? Would you have someone work on your house who gave you a contract like this to sign? If they are so great, then why did Renewable Energy Systems start having small meetings at a private residence?

By having small, personally invited groups, the windmill companies must feel they won’t be questioned by people who have done their research and won’t be asked the tough questions that come up in a more public forum. To meet this 25 percent renewable energy resource, it will take thousands and thousands of windmills. Apparently our Lee County Board wants all of these windmills in our county by making it so easy for these wind companies to come in and set up.

The zoning board won’t let a landowner sell off 1 acre from a farm to a family member to build a house because they don’t want prime farmland taken out of production, but this same board has no problem letting a wind company put three or four windmills on this same farm, taking up as much or more land with the turbine site and access roads as a 1-acre home site.

When will it end? When every parcel of land in rural Lee County is blanketed with windmills?

This is an excerpt from an RES brochure: “Usually, sites are located in high wind areas on larger parcels of undeveloped land.” Is Lee or DeKalb county a high wind area with undeveloped land? Then why are they allowed to come in so easily and disrupt people’s lives?

Neil Miller
Ashton

saukvalley.com

23 April 2009

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/why-people-clam-up-about-wind-turbines/feed/ 0 Nothing public about next wind farm hearing http://nowindfarms.com/blog/nothing-public-about-next-wind-farm-hearing/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/nothing-public-about-next-wind-farm-hearing/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:23:08 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=768 Nothing public about next wind farm hearing

Planning and Zoning Director Paul Miller has determined that on Monday, May 11, beginning at 9 a.m. at Northern Illinois University, a public hearing is to be held related to the Florida Power & Light wind farm proposal amendments. There is nothing “public” about this public hearing.

Taxpayers are forced to choose between earning a livelihood or attending the hearing. This is another example of county officials deliberately designing the public hearing process to place all burdens on the taxpayers while providing undue advantage to FPL. It is neither fair nor reasonable for DeKalb County officials to use such a financial weapon against the citizens.

To further make attendance unpalatable, the public hearing location is the Carl Sandburg Auditorium in the Holmes Student Center at NIU. County residents will be subjected to distant parking, parking fees, long walks and a less-than-impartial setting.

The standard public hearing time in DeKalb County is 7:30 p.m. In fact, DeKalb County has held public hearings in various townships at 7:30 p.m. Why do our county officials insist on a work-day, marathon wind farm hearing? The obvious answer is to prevent the public from attending, and therefore rationalize their biased vote favoring FPL’s special-use permit. Other counties appear more willing to accommodate their citizens. McLean, Livingston and Logan counties in Illinois held wind farm hearings over three, five and more evenings.

This wind farm hearing process is a flagrant violation of our rights as DeKalb County taxpayers and most especially for those forced to endure a lifetime of living within the shadow of 133 industrial wind turbines, which are 400 feet tall. The Holmes Student Center, with its 16 floors, has dominated the county skyline but will now be dwarfed by these 40-story towering turbines.

The taxpayers and residents of Afton, Clinton, Milan and Shabbona townships deserve to have the public hearing(s) held in our townships at a time when we are able to attend. A series of meetings held in each township at 7:30 p.m. would allow this process to be conducted in a reasonable and fair manner as is the right of the citizens of this county. Our county officials have yet to provide a fair and reasonable hearing process concerning the FPL application.

Sherry Hellmuth
Afton Township

Daily Chronicle

21 April 2009

]]> http://nowindfarms.com/blog/nothing-public-about-next-wind-farm-hearing/feed/ 0 Wind farm proposal goes back to public hearing http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-farm-proposal-goes-back-to-public-hearing/ http://nowindfarms.com/blog/wind-farm-proposal-goes-back-to-public-hearing/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:52:49 +0000 NoWindFarm http://nowindfarms.com/blog/?p=728 The state’s attorney’s office advised that new information on the application – the company has made a series of concessions since its original proposal – should render a new opportunity for public testimony to be heard by the hearing officer, Planning and Zoning Committee Vice Chairwoman Pat Vary said. Vary said that the state’s attorney’s recommendation came as a surprise, as she and other county board members learned of it just hours before Wednesday’s meeting. The date of the public hearing is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. on May 11, Vary said.  A location is still to be determined, Vary said, and if the public hearing is held on May 11, it would end by 5 p.m. and continued to the next day if need be.

Wind farm proposal goes back to public hearing

MALTA – The public will have a chance to be heard once again on an energy company’s proposal for a wind farm after the county’s planning and zoning committee sent the application back to a public hearing.

The DeKalb Planning and Zoning Committee voted 7-0 Wednesday on a motion to have a new public hearing based on an opinion rendered by DeKalb County State’s Attorney Ron Matekaitis. The state’s attorney’s office advised that new information on the application – the company has made a series of concessions since its original proposal – should render a new opportunity for public testimony to be heard by the hearing officer, Planning and Zoning Committee Vice Chairwoman Pat Vary said.

NextEra Energy Resources, a subsidiary of FPL Group, has proposed building and operating a 151-turbine wind-energy plant; 133 turbines would be built in Afton, Clinton, Milan and Shabbona townships and 18 turbines would be in parts of Lee County.

The date of the public hearing is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. on May 11, Vary said. She said that they would have liked to hold it earlier, but Hearing Officer Dave Dockus, who last week recommended the application for a special use permit be denied, will be out of town.

A location is still to be determined, Vary said, and if the public hearing is held on May 11, it would end by 5 p.m. and continued to the next day if need be.

Margaret Foshe, a Lee resident, said she would like to see more meetings in the southern part of the county.

“We have more of a vested interest,” she said, adding that while it may not change the county board’s final decision, it would bring a higher turnout of people living in the area of the proposed wind farm.

The public hearing is the third to be scheduled on the wind farm proposal. A Feb. 19 public hearing was canceled because of inadequate space when about 400 people showed up, spilling into the hallways outside of the multipurpose room of county health facility. Rescheduled to March 21, more than 700 people attended the beginning of a 19-hour hearing held in a high school gymnasium that lasted until nearly 4 a.m.

More than 100 people gathered for Wednesday’s Planning and Zoning Committee meeting, which lasted less than five minutes. Public comment was not to be heard.

After the meeting, audience members, company representatives and county board members shared sentiment that the proposal deserves more careful attention – no matter what side of the issue one stands.

“I didn’t know what to expect at this meeting,” said Roger Craigmile of Milan Township, who is against the proposal.

Vary said that the state’s attorney’s recommendation came as a surprise, as she and other county board members learned of it just hours before Wednesday’s meeting.

“FPL representatives responded to the hearing officer’s recommendation by offering to meet all of his objections,” said Michael Haines, D-Kingston. “It essentially changes the application, and the public deserves a chance to respond to the new application.”

“It sounds like the right thing to do,” John Emerson, R-Genoa, added. “It sounds like enough of a change where public opinion can be heard.”

NextEra has proposed a series of conditions to the application. The biggest change is the addition of a property value guarantee program, in which the company would compensate landowners whose properties had devalued, NextEra spokeswoman Mary Wells said.

“That had been an issue that many people expressed concerns about,” Wells said. “We listened and heard them and the county said that is something they would like to see.”

The company has also agreed to place a financial assurance, like a letter of credit, at the beginning of the project as part of the decommissioning process, rather than in 15 years as originally proposed.

In his report, Dockus listed eight reasons to deny NextEra’s proposal. Among those, the proposal lacked both a property value guarantee plan and a sufficient decommissioning process, he said.

Project manager Anthony Pedroni said even if the DeKalb County Board ultimately votes against the project, that wouldn’t necessarily kill plans for the 12 to 18 turbines permitted for northeastern Lee County.

“Obviously, it’d be a dramatic shift from the proposal we have right now, with the whole project together,” Pedroni said.

If in fact DeKalb County does opt out of the project, NextEra would conduct another wind study to see if building only a portion of its original plan would be financially feasible.

Pedroni said he is confident, though, that that won’t happen.

“We’re going to work hard to get to a successful conclusion of this project, and when we get there, we’ll have a wind farm everyone can be proud of,” he said.

Shaw Newspapers reporter Chase Castle contributed to this report.

Daily Chronicle

1 April 2009

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