No Lee-DeKalb Windfarms » DeKalb Lee county board wind farms

DeKalb County wind farm lawsuit moves forward

NoWindFarm — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:21:41 +0000

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.

Web link: http://www.chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/06/dek…

Wind turbines stir up bad feelings, health concerns in DeKalb County

NoWindFarm — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:12:31 +0000

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.

Web link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0314…

DeKalb County Wind Turbine Noise

NoWindFarm — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:11:15 +0000

Wondering what a day in the footprint of the DeKalb County industrial wind energy center might sound like? Yes, there were planes flying over the area near the wind turbines, but not during these clips, it just sounds that way. All the video was captured at the DeKalb County wind farm with the same camera and settings. The distances were determined using an optical range finder.

Video: 3-3-2010

Note that on some of clips there is a background rumbling noise that is due to wind blowing over the camera microphone. I assure you the whistling and jet noise is what you would hear if you were sitting with me as the video was taken.

FPL Energy Illinois Wind – DeKalb Property Value Guarantee

NoWindFarm — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:50:00 +0000

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.

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

Video: 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.

Shadow Flicker

NoWindFarm — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:21:27 +0000

Turbine shadow flicker occurs in the home, around the home and on the local roads in the Lee-DeKalb counties. It’s difficult to get away from it, even if it’s not in your own home. Our friends and neighbors have it in their homes. Even if neither of us has in our home at the moment, the fields and roads can be another problem.

Video:

Wind farm  foes revise complaint

NoWindFarm — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:34:06 +0000

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.

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.

Shadow Flicker Blues II

NoWindFarm — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:46:24 +0000

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.

Video: 8:42 AM

Shadow Flicker Blues

NoWindFarm — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:05:31 +0000

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.

Video: 8:42 AM

Lee Wants Suit by Wind Farm Company Dismissed

NoWindFarm — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:49:59 +0000

The Village of Lee has filed a motion asking that a judge dismiss a lawsuit filed against them by a company that wants to build wind turbines near their borders, and the law firm representing the village of just over 300 people on the western edge of DeKalb County says the village plans to “vigorously” defend against lawsuit by the company building a wind farm mostly in southwest DeKalb County.

FPL Energy Illinois Wind, in the lawsuit it filed Friday, says the Lee Village Board “arbitrarily” denied their request for permits to build six wind turbines within the one-and-a-half miles around the village that municipalities have control over under state law. The company wants a judge to order Lee to grant the permits.

But attorney Keith Foster with Foster and Buick Law Group, which represents the village, says the Board’s denial was based on input it received from the wind farm company and after hearing potential reasons for denying the request during two public hearings. He says the Board’s reasons met the requirement for denying the permits.

“The reason would have to have a reasonable basis so any reason at all that is considered rational by an ordinary person would be a basis for denial,” says Foster.

The Village Board’s reasons for the denials included feeling the 450-foot tall turbines would be too close to homes.

The Village also wants a judge to examine how the company’s lawsuit was filed, with the village’s lawyers saying an unidentified, “badge-waving” agent filed the suit and an unidentified person served summons to village board members while demanding they appear in court this week. The law firm says it has serious questions about the tactics of the wind farm company and its attorneys.

“And we are going to monitor that closely and we are going to raise objections with any tactics that are used, any procedures that are employed, that are outside of the rules that we all have to follow that are given to us by the Supreme Court,” says Foster.

An official for the wind farm project calls the claims misinterpretations and misunderstandings.

http://www.1360wlbk.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=559%3Alee-wants-suit-by-wind-farm-company-dismissed&catid=1%3Alatest-news&Itemid=65

Village of Lee petitions judge to examine how summons were served

NoWindFarm — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:03:30 +0000

DeKALB – Lawyers for the Village of Lee are asking a judge to examine how court summons were served to village board members who are being sued for rejecting a request by an energy company to build six wind turbines near the village.

In court documents filed Wednesday, lawyers for Lee say an unidentified person filed the lawsuit late Friday afternoon. That person – identified only as a male in court documents – “waived [sic] a badge of some nature” at a deputy clerk who was filing the complaint. Lee’s court filing also claims an unidentified person served summons to village board members, demanding they appear in court this week; lawyers for Lee say they have no idea who the server was or whether he was properly licensed to carry out the task.

“We believe the Village of Lee acted well within its authority in rejecting the sitting request,” attorney John Countryman said in a written statement Wednesday. “I have serious questions about the tactics of this Florida outfit and their Chicago attorneys.”

The document filed Wednesday asks a judge to investigate who was involved in filing the lawsuit and serving the summons. The document also asks a judge to throw the lawsuit out because it was filed improperly.

FPL Energy Illinois Wind LLC filed the lawsuit Friday in DeKalb County Court, claiming the Lee Village Board improperly denied the company’s application for permits to build six wind turbines. The turbines would not be within village limits, but they fall within the village’s jurisdiction, according to state law.

Anthony Pedroni, project manager of the DeKalb-Lee wind farm project, said any problems raised by lawyers for Lee are “misinterpretations or misunderstandings.” He said he was certain the law firm hired by FPL followed the letter of the law in having summons served to Lee Village Board members.

“It’s a well-respected firm, and they know how to properly go about this process,” Pedroni said.

FPL’s lawsuit demands a judge compel approval of the permits – allowing construction to move forward – and to award at least $200,000 in damages for time and resources lost while the project sits idle.

The six turbines involved in this lawsuit are part of a 151-turbine wind farm that straddles the DeKalb-Lee county line. Turbines in the non-municipal portions of the project – which will be home to most of the turbines – are under construction.

Another legal action is pending; a citizens group filed a lawsuit in July, claiming the DeKalb County Board improperly granted construction permits and is seeking a halt to the project.

By Kristen Schmidt

Daily Chronicle

23 September 2009

Lee Zoning Board Meeting 7 PM 8/31/2009

NoWindFarm — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:36:41 +0000

Lee Zoning Board Meeting 7 PM 8/31/2009.

It’s refreshing to see local government actually vote according to what the majority of the people want. The Lee board members unanimously agreed to NOT approve 6 turbines within the 1.5 mile buffer of the town of Lee.

Video: 8/31/2009 07:53 PM

Video: 8/31/2009 08:45 PM

Video: 8/31/2009 09:01 PM

Video: 8/31/2009 09:59 PM

Video: 8/31/2009 10:21 PM

DeKalb Board Meeting 7 PM 6/27/2009

NoWindFarm — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:00:17 +0000

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.

Video: 6/27/2009 07 PM

Committee approves permit for wind farm

NoWindFarm — Sat, 30 May 2009 14:20:47 +0000

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

May DeKalb public hearing videos

NoWindFarm — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:06:15 +0000

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.

Video: 5/11/2009 09:53 AM

Video: 5/11/2009 10:32 AM

Video: 5/11/2009 11:36 AM

Video: 5/11/2009 12:07 PM

Video: 5/11/2009 2:07 PM

Video: 5/11/2009 2:59 PM

Video: 5/11/2009 4:06 PM

Video: 5/11/2009 4:07 PM

Video: 5/11/2009 7:52 PM

Video: 5/11/2009 8:45 PM

Video: 5/11/2009 9:37 PM

Video: 5/11/2009 10:01 PM

Video: 5/12/2009 9:52 AM

Video: 5/12/2009 10:26 AM

Video: 5/12/2009 11:37 AM

Video: 5/12/2009 12:27 PM

Video: 5/12/2009 12:28 PM

Video: 5/12/2009 FPL Closing Statements

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

Wind farm hearing continues

NoWindFarm — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:49:05 +0000

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.

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

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