Sugar Creek Wind Farm developers seek approval of changes and fewer turbines

 

[June 19, 2018] 

On Thursday, June 14, the Logan County Board held its monthly workshop to hear committee updates and set the agenda for their regular voting session next week. One topic of discussion was amendments to the Apex/Sugar Creek Wind Farm project.

Guests representing the Apex/Sugar Creek Wind Farm project were Senior Development Manager Dave Wagner, Director of Development for American Wind Energy Management Stan Komperda, and Kyle Barry, an attorney representing the company. They last came before the board for approval in fall 2016.

Wagner said the interconnection agreement expired in late 2016 and they had to re-file the agreement, which takes about 18 months. The Sugar Creek Wind Farm project is slated to begin construction in January 2019.

Wagner and Barry said there were two items to consider. The number of turbines is being reduced from 77 to 58 and parcels are being added.

Wagner said in 2016, the layout of the original project changed, and the number of turbines reduced from 117 to 77 due to improved technology. Further improvements in technology will allow them to further reduce the number of turbines to 58.

Wagner said the landowners are aware of these changes and were shown the new plans at a recent open house. The changes will not decrease the amount of money the landowners will make. Landowners will make more money with less impact on the land.

Wagner said twenty parcels that were part of the gen-tie line [or interconnecting power line] are being removed because another transmission line is double braided, which allows for more capacity while minimizing the impact. Some landowners also decided not to participate and did not renew their leases.

Wagner said the two new parcels being added will enable them to reduce the number of underground connections.

Barry said several turbine models are under consideration, and sound studies and setbacks have been reviewed.

Komperda said the turbines will be about 100 feet taller to blade height than the previous models. The blades will also be larger.

Barry said there are two new applications that need approval due to the reduced number of turbines and the addition of parcels and each one is a separate vote.

At their meeting Wednesday, June 6, the Logan County Regional Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of both applications.

At a public hearing on June 7, the Zoning Board of Appeals considered both applications to decide whether they met zoning standards for conditional use.

Jenny Geiger, Edward Duncan, and Pete Poletti presented results of environmental studies, noise studies, and real estate value impact studies.

The environmental studies showed the wind farm will comply with Department of Natural Resource requirements.

The noise studies show the turbines will meet both daytime and nighttime limits for noise, though noise reducers may be needed at night for some turbines.

The real estate value impact studies show that Sugar Creek Wind Farm will not have a statistically measurable impact on property values.

ZBA members had questions about how many turbines meet the noise reduction standards and whether larger turbines are noisier.

Duncan, who conducted the noise studies, said there is up to a three-decibel reduction for certain turbine models. There are lists of which turbines would need to be in sound reductions according to which ones have higher sound level. He said some larger turbines are noisier, but it is not a substantial difference.

Approximately 70 people who live near the area where turbines will be placed were also at the hearing. Many of the public’s concerns were about whether larger turbines would increase noise levels and why there would be a “cluster” of turbines close to several homes.

Wagner said they look at setbacks and buildable areas, and there are just small areas where turbines can be placed. He said they try to accommodate landowners, but their hands are sometimes tied.

After brief discussion among themselves about the new conditions proposed, the ZBA recommended approval of both amendments. The vote for the amendment to reduce the number of turbines was 5-2 with ZBA members Cheryl Baker, Bret Farmer, John Fulton, Judy Graff, and Doug Thompson voting yes. Derek Martin and Scott Noltensmeier voted no.

The ZBA unanimously recommended the amendment to add two parcels.

At the Logan County Board workshop on June 14, Barry and Wagner shared updates on the project.

Barry said a generation tie line, or transmission line, will serve as the cord to plug the project in to the electric grid.

Barry said they are seeking an amendment to the permit that will eliminate the original gen-tie line that went out to the Fogerty Substation. They discovered an existing Ameren transmission line right along Route 10 that now has more capacity due to some recent upgrades. The transmission line they had initially planned to use would have involved a lot of poles and a lot of wires.

Barry said they will build a switching station and a substation and drop a line from the existing transmission line infrastructure to plug in to the project footprint.

Barry said besides the number of turbines being reduced, 40 parcels are being taken out of the project, reducing the footprint.

The two parcels being added will host underground collection lines and will reduce the amount of underground lines necessary and make the project more efficient.

Barry said if the applications are approved by the board, the project will have virtually the same footprint and same output with less infrastructure, less impact on the community, less impact to farmland, and in the end will be a more efficient project.

Wagner showed the board a Power-point presentation outlining some of the revisions.

Wagner said Apex is unique in that they have the ability to operate and maintain their wind projects after they are constructed and stay involved for the life of the project.

Wagner said they had to re-file the interconnection agreement that would have expired after the election, but it worked out since they are now able to use the double braided, higher capacity transmission line. In addition, the improvements in technology since 2016 allow them to use fewer turbines that will generate the same amount of power.

Wagner said the big clusters of turbines in the layout are necessary because even though the project covers 10,000 acres, there are many areas turbines cannot be placed because of setbacks from a road, residences, pipelines, wetlands, or environmental setbacks. The clusters represent the only places they can place a turbine and not be in violation for sound ordinances, setbacks, or wildlife.

Wagner said the county ordinance says they need to stay 1,000 feet away from any residence, but Apex has its own internal standard of a 1,200 feet setback and many turbines will be setback even further than that.

Wagner said the estimated cost of the project is $270 million. The building permit fees will be between $566,000 and $734,000. The project should bring in $1.9 M in annual tax revenue to the county, and $1.2 M annually in payments to landowners over 30 years.

Wagner said the landowner payments will not decrease that much with fewer turbines because leases are set up so 70 percent of the landowner payments come from the total acreage leased.

Wagner said they will also be submitting plans for drainage tile repairs, decommissioning, county and township road agreements, and emergency response plans. They will carry liability insurance and will mitigate any signal interference.

Wagner said they want to include three turbine models not included in the application package, and if they decide to use any of these models, proper setback and noise compliance reports will be submitted to the county prior to the application for building permits.

Wagner said they need to “massage” some of the language concerning aerial applications and spray lanes, which will be like the Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreements.

Logan County Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea said he has revised some of the conditions to show Apex will work with landowners. There will be a document saying they will work with property owners, farm owners, and aerial applicators to shut down as needed, and conditions of what they can and cannot do.

Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman Scott Schaffenacker said on Tuesday, he would bring forward motions for amendments to the conditional use permits and the additions of the parcels. Schaffenacker will also bring forward a motion for turbine tower permit fees to be left at $20 per foot of height.

The board will vote on these motions at their regular board meeting Tuesday, June 19th at 7 p.m. at the Logan County Courthouse.

[Angela Reiners]