Since 2009, White County has been working with EDP Renewables to install wind turbines at the Meadow Lake Wind Farm, a privately-owned wind farm in the county. As of October 2019, over 350 turbines have been constructed and more are planned. These turbines produce over 600 MW, which can power close to 200,000 homes. Thanks to an economic development agreement, the County has received over $9 million in payments and increased its tax base.
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Build support for renewable energy in the community
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Identify procedural mechanisms to implement renewable energy projects
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Install renewable energy project and work with community members to optimize
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EDP Renewables had a wind farm in Bloomington, Illinois and was looking to create a new one. The company determined the southwestern part of White County was an excellent location for a wind farm due to the flat landscape with few trees. The area was mostly farmland, meaning new development would increase the tax base.
EDP began talking to landowners in the area to see if there was interest in using their property for a wind farm. After determining they had enough landowners agreeing to have turbines on their property, EDP approached County officials to discuss implementing the wind farm.
White County decided to begin negotiations for the wind farm after talking with neighboring Benton County about the benefits and issues they faced during the development of the Benton County wind farm. Seeing the community support and the economic benefits received in a neighboring county helped White County officials feel more comfortable with the proposal.
The County began by tasking its area plan director with information gathering on wind ordinances and establishing a committee to review the project. The committee consisted of the three County Commissioners and the County attorney, area plan director, County highway superintendent, and County surveyor. The group looked at the process used by Benton County and learned about the benefits of a road agreement leading the committee to include one. The County attorney also brought in an outside attorney who had more experience with wind energy development and a financial advisor to understand the monetary implications of the County’s venture. The committee then developed a wind ordinance to incorporate into their zoning codes.
After consultation between the committee and the consultants, the committee determined that the County and EDP would enter into three agreements: an economic development agreement, a road agreement, and a decommissioning agreement. The County and EDP negotiated and signed these agreements, with assistance from the consultants brought on by the County.
The economic development agreement requires that EDP pay fees to the County to compensate for the value of new development that will be precluded in the area of the wind farm. The County and EDP decided to set the payment amount based on the MW of production generated instead of the number of turbines built in an effort to encourage efficiency over volume. The agreement also detailed when the first payments would be made and an end date to make sure the project was not started and then discontinued as EDP would still have to make payments until that time.
The road use agreement provides for the protection of the roadways in the county, to make sure they were still usable during and after construction, similar to the agreement used by Benton County. EDP was responsible for the construction and cost of reinforcing the roads. The company was also required to document current road conditions and perform assessments of the roads throughout the construction process. To ensure EDP would adhere to the agreement, bonds were created in case there were any issues with the roads. The agreement also established fines that could be required in the case of noncompliance.
The decommissioning agreement provides a level of security for the County if something should happen to the company or the project prior to completion. It states that the company would be required to return the area back to its original state (before the project began) using EDP finances. This money was made available by the company and was backed up by bonds the company is required to obtain.
Once the agreements were signed, EDP fortified the roads through concrete stabilization and began constructing the wind farms. After consultation with the owners of the land where the turbines would be built, the County and EDP decided to use a linear system instead of a “shotgun approach” – which would have placed the turbines in the best areas regardless of the property ownership layout instead of in a uniform line. The linear system was a costlier approach for the company, but it was less invasive for the landowners who early in the process talked about wanting the turbines to have as little impact on their land as possible.
EDP Renewables was the sole funder. Some fees were initially paid by the County, but they were reimbursed by EDP under the economic development agreement.
The Meadow Lake Wind Farm was installed in multiple phases in White County. As of summer 2019, six phases have been completed, with the seventh phase in negotiation. Each phase takes around a year and a half from negotiations to completion. The first phase started in 2010.
As of summer 2019, White County had more than 350 turbines producing over 600 MW of energy, an amount sufficient to power close to 200,000 homes. The wind farm also saves more than 1.4 billion gallons of water each year that would have been used at a traditional power plant for cooling and displaces carbon emissions that would otherwise be produced in the county. In the most recent phase, the turbines themselves were constructed in neighboring Benton County using the roads in White County.
500equivalent jobs created during construction, with 38 being permanent jobs
$9 Mthe amount EDP has paid to the County from the economic development agreement
600 MWThe amount of energy produced, which is enough to power close to 200,000 homes
The economic benefit through the first six phases represents a capital investment of over $1 billion dollars. From a job standpoint, roughly 500 equivalent jobs were created during construction, and 38 ongoing maintenance jobs have been created for the upkeep of the turbines. Per the economic development agreement, EDP has paid over $9 million to the County, some of which has been remitted to local taxing units such as the schools and the library. Through 2018, EDP made $35 million in payments to the landowners in the county. These payments have boosted local spending power and translated to a higher level of local income taxes. The County also receives around $2.4 million from personal property taxes per year due to the wind farms.
Overall, the project was well-received by the community. There were some complaints during the road reinforcement from residents wondering when it would be completed, but since the completion of phase one, the County has only received one complaint. One reason why acceptance has been so high is that EDP gave payments to every household in the area even if they did not have a turbine on their property.
The success of the first installations has led to more wind installations in the planning stages and interest in developing solar in the county.
County officials did not note any challenges in the process, but they did reaffirm that bringing in outside legal and financial counsel helped simplify the project for the County. Learning from the experiences of Benton County also made the process easier for White County.
County Commissioner John Heimlich, one of the members of the County’s committee, said “it is important to get an ordinance in place before there are companies interested in these types of projects. The ordinances can be revisited later on, but it is helpful to regulate how the companies are able to operate from the get-go.”
These questions are designed to inspire readers—especially those wanting to learn broadly about climate change solutions—to think critically about the case study on this page and encourage deeper, more meaningful conversations. A list of ERIT case studies that include discussion questions can be found on the Resilient Communities Case Studies page.
John Heimlich
White County Commissioner
wcjohnheimlich@gmail.com
