Harvesting The Wind
lllinois Wind Power Beginning To Grow

By Heather Halstead

Rural Illinois areas could benefit from the economic impact of large wind farms like this one already established near Algona, Iowa. (Photo by Lisa Daniels.)

Illinois utilities rely mostly on coal, nuclear energy and natural gas to generate electricity, but other energy sources are developing in the Land of Lincoln. Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative, Winchester, has received state and federal grants and support from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to build a 1.65-megawatt wind turbine in Pike County. Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative plans to build one large wind turbine, but it could be the example that lights the way for other wind energy projects in the area. Pike County is one of just four Illinois counties with sufficient winds to support development of large-scale wind energy projects.

Midwest Wind Energy and Two Rivers Wind Energy, two wind energy development companies, are working to develop much larger wind energy projects in Pike County. But it is not always smooth sailing for developers. County zoning issues have to be resolved. Eventual decommissioning, road use and setback from adjoining land are some of the issues being discussed. Landowner opposition and court hearings stalled one wind energy development project in Bureau County. Finally, if federal production tax credits are not reinstated, some wind energy projects may not be able to proceed.

Wind energy is one of America's most abundant, clean and secure energy resources. It's renewable and, of course, produces no harmful emissions. But tapping into this renewable wind energy source isn't free.

The western Illinois electric cooperative is interested in building a wind turbine because,

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"While it's perfectly okay to use coal and/or natural gas to generate electricity, if you can use a renewable resource, that's even better," says Bruce Giffin, General Manager of Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative. "It's the right thing to do."

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Sen. Richard Durbin, Rep. Ray LaHood and many others have gone on record in support of wind farms. Despite overall budget tightening, Illinois has made a commitment to develop more sources of renewable power. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCECO) awards grants of up to $2.75 million, which would cover 10 to 50 percent of the costs, depending on the size of the renewable power project.

Illinois Rural Electric's project will cost about $1.7 million. The co-op has received grants of $438,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture, $175,000 from the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation and $250,000 from the state of Illinois. Giffin says the project wouldn't have been financially feasible without these grants.

The Environmental Law and Policy Center, an energy policy advocacy group based in Chicago, has been active in promoting wind energy and other renewable energy sources throughout the Midwest.

Charles Kubert, Environmental Business Specialist for the center, says, "Section 9006 of the Farm Bill is the largest commitment ever made to energy efficiency and renewable energy in the rural sector. This program provides grants and loans for qualifying energy efficiency and renewable energy projects initiated by farmers, ranchers and rural small business owners. Last year, $21 million in grants were distributed, including more than $1.5 million to six projects in Illinois." More information is available through local USDA Rural Development offices.

Landowners could receive lease payments of about $4,000 per wind turbine per year.

Although Chicago is known as the windy city, the best location for wind energy development is in west-central Illinois. "Pike County is where there's enough wind for the project to make sense," Giffin explained. "In 2001 the federal Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory published a map showing areas across the nation with the potential for 'utility grade' wind (7.5 to 55 mph). Pike County was the only area in central Illinois with that potential,"

Other Illinois counties with some "utility grade" wind resources include Bureau, Lee and McLean.

Giffin says that everyone in the area benefits from wind energy development, not just Pike County residents. "Economic development is good for the entire area that we serve. We share costs throughout the area, and growth anywhere on the system benefits all members."

This turbine will use the latest, most efficient design. According to Giffin, "Some of the windmills installed 20 years ago had terrible operating problems, but the models now being installed have long track records of

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reliable operation. It's like the difference between a Model T and a new Taurus. They're different in every respect. I mean, fundamentally you have all the same components, but they've been improved upon."

Besides their inefficiency, another of the complaints about the old wind generators is that they were a possible threat to birds. Giffin says, "Today's turbines are designed not to pose a threat. The turbines built 20 years ago had a couple of serious problems. They were built on open latticework structures on which birds perched and then flew into the moving blades. There's also evidence that by marking one of the three blades, there will be a visible pattern that the birds will avoid."

Illinois Rural Electric's new wind generator will also be taller than the old design. The turbine's hub will be 200-feet-high, and when one of the blades points straight up, it will be 365 feet in total height. As Giffin explains, "The higher up you go, the more and more steady the wind will be."

The turbine needs winds between 7.5 to 55 mph to produce electricity. If the wind is too fast, the turbine shuts down.

No one likes a noisy neighbor, but Giffin says, "The new turbines produce a little less noise than inside an average house, about 45 decibels at 1,150 feet. You can carry on a conversation in a normal voice at the base of an operating turbine."

The new turbine will have 1.65-megawatt capacity. In layman's terms, a turbine that size would provide enough electricity for about 500 homes on the hottest day of the year when operating at full capacity. That's slightly less than 5 percent of the total demand on the co-op's system on a very hot day.

Giffin explains, "One megawatt is 1 million watts or enough for 10,000 100-watt light bulbs. So, for an individual co-op member, that would be a great deal, but for the total co-op membership, it's only a small portion of the electric demand."

Distribution cooperatives like Illinois Rural Electric are often limited in the amount of electricity they can generate by all-requirements power contracts with their current wholesale suppliers. "While our present wholesale contract limits how large our interest can be, it's possible that another 100 wind turbines could be built. Some knowledgeable people have estimated even more than that," says Giffin.

For Pike County, such a project "would add $5 million to $7 million to the tax base. Based on the estimates by turbine manufacturers, with 100 turbines, there could be $1.5 million in maintenance work income, which would produce an additional $5.25 million in economic activity in the county. "If the resource is developed, there would be a significant economic development impact," says Giffin.

Illinois State University (ISU), located in Bloomington-Normal, is trying to prove this by building a demonstration wind generator. Doug Kingman, Assistant Professor of Ag Engineering at ISU, says the project is meant "to educate farmers and the citizens of Illinois about wind energy."

Kingman says ISU also hopes to "promote rural economic development by diversifying income for farmers and landowners, infusing capital into rural areas, increasing rural tax bases, and providing construction and service jobs to rural communities." ISU is also providing information to policy makers to support legislative efforts, and providing objective information about the economic viability of wind energy development for municipalities, school districts, landowners and potential investors.

ISU has already built a 263-foot wind meteorological tower to

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measure the wind at five different heights. The wind tower will be located at the ISU research farm near Lexington. This will be a very visible and high profile project within sight of Interstate 55. "We're hoping we can start construction late this spring," Kingman says. "We hope to be funded this year and have the generator running by the fall of 2004. If the project is not funded that won't happen."

Stumbling blocks in funding are the real delay in building wind generators. Jeff Reeves, President/ CEO of Corn Belt Energy Corporation, Bloomington, says, "Once you've committed to it, and you have approval to build them, wind generators can go up fairly rapidly. But getting the permission and performing all the due diligence before the construction can take years. The actual construction time would be months, not years."

Most wind projects in Illinois lease the land from farmers, but Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative simply purchased the farmland outright. Many landowners are interested in leasing their land, or even building their own wind generators, but it's best to consult independent experts as well as your local electric co-op before making any commitments.

Large wind farms require electric transmission lines to deliver the power. In many instances, transmission lines don't exist in areas with good wind potential. New power lines would have to be built in addition to the wind turbines. This is not only expensive, but can also bring opposition from other landowners.

Surprisingly, wind farm projects sometimes face local legal hurdles. Neighbors of one large wind farm project in northern Illinois had objections based on potential lowering of property values, noise, disorienting strobe effect from the shadow cast by the blades, potential power quality issues and concern that large chunks of ice could be thrown off the blades. Their objections were not upheld by the county zoning board or in court, but the decision is being appealed.

Other wind projects in Illinois are temporarily on hold because, as Giffin explains, "The energy bill stalled in Congress last fall, and still hasn't been passed, so right now there's not an authorization for production tax credits for new turbines. As a consequence, you're not going to have new turbines being installed by developers until that production tax credit returns. And the economics are such that you absolutely have to have a substantial body of grants and support as we do, and/or the production tax credits."

Despite the hurdles, wind energy and other renewable energy sources are beginning to see real progress. Giffin says, "Because renewable resources are generally found in the rural areas served by electric co-ops like ours, we're naturally interested in those resources, whether they are wind, biomass or methane from animal waste. When you can use those resources economically, we think everybody wins."

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