Turbine proposal headed to committee: Hearing officer to file amended report after new hearings

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

DeKALB – A committee of the DeKalb County Board is the next stop for an application from an energy company that wants to build a wind farm in DeKalb and Lee counties.

A reopened public hearing regarding the application for a special-use permit from NextEra Energy Resources to build and operate a 151-turbine wind farm concluded about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, county planner Paul Miller said.

The hearing had started at 9 a.m. Monday on the campus of Northern Illinois University, with a second session starting at 7 p.m. Monday, and was continued until Tuesday to accommodate everyone who wanted to speak.

The next stop for the proposed project is the county board’s Planning and Zoning Committee, which is scheduled to meet May 27.

If the plan is approved, NextEra would build 133 turbines in Afton, Clinton, Milan and Shabbona townships. A plan to build an additional 18 turbines in Lee County already has been approved.

Hearing Officer David Dockus is expected to file a supplemental report based on the information and testimony given during this week’s hearing, Miller said. Dockus’ report should be completed before the May 27 meeting.

Dockus already made a recommendation against NextEra’s initial proposal to the county.

But NextEra added new information to its application for a special-use permit to address some of those concerns. After NextEra updated the application, the Planning and Zoning Committee determined a new public hearing was needed.

The other public hearing about the proposal was held March 21 and lasted nearly 19 hours. A Feb. 19 hearing was canceled because of inadequate space at the chosen venue.

The new information provided to the county from NextEra included 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.

If the special use permit is approved by the county board, NextEra would still have to secure a building permit for each turbine it wants to build, Miller said.

What’s next

The DeKalb County Board’s Planning and Zoning Committee is scheduled to discuss the application from NextEra Energy Resources at a meeting later this month. The committee meets at 7 p.m. May 27 in the Jenkins Auditorium at Kishwaukee College, which is on the corner of state Route 38 and Malta Road in Malta.