BV board approves wind farm
MANLIUS — The Bureau Valley School Board approved a resolution in support of the Green River Wind Farm project, which calls for the construction of 190 wind turbines spread over 50,000 acres. Most of the 437-megawatt project is planned for Lee County, with about 80 percent of its turbines in Hamilton Township and another 10 percent in East Grove Township. The remaining 10 percent is planned to be divided between Bureau and Whiteside counties.
No matter where in the project the turbines are located, almost all of the locations have the same thing in common. They’re in the Bureau Valley School District.
At Monday’s school board meeting, officials from the Dublin-based Mainstream Renewable Power explained the project and the potential benefits to the district.
Mainstream’s Matt Boss, project manager, said the company is in business to develop, build and operate renewable energy sites around the world, focusing on wind and solar energy. Boss said the topic was especially timely after the recent completion of talks in Copenhagen and the emphasis on finding ways to solve the global warming issues and yet be profitable for businesses.
Boss said one of their most important objectives was to work as a team, not just the company and the landowners, but also including the school district and everyone in the community.
The Green River project was purchased from local wind farm developers Bruce and Joyce Papiech of FPC Services, and is preliminary work is well underway. Boss said the company is in line to sell its power to Commonwealth Edison, is looking into environmental studies and permitting issues, and has begun signing up landowners, including board member Don DeWaele.
Boss also discussed the history of tax laws regarding wind farms in Illinois. Consensus was reached in 2007 on taxing the turbines based on a market value of $360,000 per megawatt of capacity.
So what does that mean for Bureau Valley? About $2.6 million per year.
“It could be a few hundred thousand either way,” Boss said.
Boss said there has been a good response from area landowners, who have asked a lot of questions. To date, about 2,000 acres of land has been committed, and Boss said he would like to see construction begin in 2011.
“I can’t see much at this stage that’s going to hold us back,” he said.
The vote to approve the resolution in support of Green River was 6-0, with board member Kent Siltman not present. Several of the other board members spoke in favor of the project before the vote.
Board member Keith Bolin, who was the driving force behind the construction of the district’s wind turbine, said the project would vastly increase the district’s wealth without causing harm to the land and without bringing any additional obligations or students to the school district.
“Something like this almost never happens,” he said. “I’m not seeing a lot of negatives for the locals.”
Board member Jim Lilley said he would like to see some of the extra tax income used for lowering taxes, a desire echoed by DeWaele.
“That is something we can do with this kind of money,” he said.
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