Logan County Regional Planning Commission recommends approval of five new Whitney Hill Wind Farm parcels, underground collection lines and a substation

 

[May 02, 2019] 

At the Logan County Regional Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, May 1st, commission members heard updates on some additions to the Whitney Hill Wind Farm Project near Mount Pulaski.

Commission members present were Chairman Blair Hoerbert, Vice chairman Dave Schonauer, Tom Anderson, Becky Werth, Jeff Hoinacki, Phil Pickett, recently appointed Atlanta Mayor Adam McVey, Mount Pulaski Mayor Matt Bobell; and Kevin Bateman, acting as designee for Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman. Logan County Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea and Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp were also present.

Representatives for Whitney Hill were project attorney Kyle Barry, and Swift Current Energy’s Daniel Sheehan and Stephanie Fowler.

Barry said the conditional use permit for the Whitney Hill Wind Farm project was approved at April’s Logan County Board meeting. This project is phase two of the HillTopper Wind Farm project.

Barry said the project has submitted a new limited and targeted supplemental application seeking approval to add five new parcels. The parcels will not host any new turbines, but the applicants are asking to run underground collection lines buried five feet underground across the parcels connecting turbines to one another and the substation.

The applicants are also seeking permission to put in an electric substation that will be located on the same parcel next to the substation currently being used for the HillTopper project.

Barry said the existing permit allows a substation on the eastern side of the project, but this location will make things more efficient and involve less of a footprint.

Sheehan said the reason for relocating the substation is to put it next to the interconnect. After doing some engineering studies and other research, they found ComEd was not comfortable with the way the power would feed into the point of interconnect with the substation being that close and the way it would tie into the lines.

Sheehan said after more consideration, the company decided to move the collector substation adjacent to the HillTopper substation. That prevents them from creating a non-conforming parcel next to the point of the interconnect substation on that parcel and keeps the parcel the way it is now. As they go to Lake Fork on that side where HillTopper is, it will look virtually identical to the substation there now and the company already has lease space acreage they can utilize through the shared facilities agreement with HillTopper Wind Farm through Whitney Hill.

Diving into it and doing more research Sheehan said running the underground cables and the extra length will save some money for the project as well.

The new parcels being added are due to the new lines. Sheehan said a couple of the parcels were HillTopper participants and already have turbines on them. All will have underground collection lines except the substation.

Aukamp asked if the extra substation would be connecting to the existing overhead transmission lines.

Sheehan said yes, it would and there would not be any changes to the lines.

Aukamp said roadway borings will be needed for the cables, so he is working with the township on the details. The township highway commissioner must approve the work as he controls the right-of-way.

Werth’s motion to recommend approval of the application was unanimously approved.

The Logan County Zoning Board of Appeals is holding a public hearing at the Mount Pulaski American Legion Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. to consider the application.

[Angela Reiners]