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FAQ

1. What are the benefits of wind energy?
2. Are wind turbines safe?
3. Will building a wind farm pollute nearby streams and rivers and lead to increased flooding?
4. What kind of jobs does this type of project create?
5. Isn't wind energy heavily subsidized?
6. Turbines use more energy to make than they can deliver.
7. What happens when the wind doesn't blow?
8. Wind energy is unreliable and needs a back-up system to work
9. Wind power is expensive
10. How do turbines operate?
11. The Green River wind farm project is in a flood zone, isn't it?
12. My land has an irrigation system/pivot on it. Can you still put a wind turbine here?
13. I hear that agricultural aviators (crop sprayers) aren't able to fly around turbines. Is this true?
14. Is personal property included in the valuation of a wind turbine for property tax purposes? Will I have to pay the property tax for wind turbines on my property?
15. What will Mainstream do about the noise and shadow flicker impacts of the turbines?
16. I've heard that wind power gets a lot of subsidy from the government - is this true?
17. How is safety handled during hunting season?

1. What are the benefits of wind energy?

Wind energy is clean, safe and highly compatible with agriculture. It provides economic development to rural communities through payments to landowners, tax revenues and job creation. It diversifies the nation's energy base, protects against electricity price spikes and utilizes a domestic natural resource. It creates energy without the generation of harmful byproducts that lead to acid rain, mercury contamination, dangerous waste storage issues and climate change. The popularity of wind power has made it the fastest-growing source of electricity generation in the world since the early 1990s.

2. Are wind turbines safe?

Wind energy is one of the safest power generating technologies in the world. Some of the safety features include turbine shutdown during high wind speeds and lightning protection.

3. Will building a wind farm pollute nearby streams and rivers and lead to increased flooding?

Wind farms in general utilize very little chemicals, lubricants, etc. and do not generate any appreciable amount of hazardous waste. With proper planning, project design, and utilization of current state-of-the-art storm water Best Management Practices (BMPs), these important resources will be adequately protected from degradation.

4. What kind of jobs does this type of project create?

Developing, constructing and operating a wind farm requires coordinating the efforts of many different teams and individuals. Each of the three stages involve different steps:

During the pre-development and development phase, jobs created include:

• Project developers
• Field engineers
• Environmental managers and consultants
• Legal and permitting support
• Community outreach
• Document control
• Administrative and office support

During the construction phase, jobs created include all of the above, plus:

• Numerous construction-related positions
• Transportation managers
• Contract and sub-contract managers
• Project controls engineers
• QA/QC technicians
• Safety technicians

Once a wind farm is operational, jobs created include:

• Project managers
• Project coordinators
• Production managers
• Wind turbine technicians
• Wind turbine maintenance
  Administrative and office support

5. Isn't wind energy heavily subsidized?

Every energy technology is subsidized. Wind energy is no exception. Wind receives a tax credit that provides an inflation-adjusted 1.5 cents for each kilowatt-hour generated, over the first ten years of the project. This credit reduces the tax liability of a wind farm, but is not a subsidy of public money flowing to the wind farm owner.

6. Turbines use more energy to make than they can deliver.

Energy used to build wind turbines is quickly recovered by the amount of energy they generate.

7. What happens when the wind doesn't blow?

Wind varies and does not blow consistently all the time which is reflected by the "capacity factor". Modern turbines are built to generate energy at a range of wind speeds and are sited to take advantage of consistent winds and provide wind energy to the grid about 90% of the time. That means that 90% of the time, some wind is blowing and energy is being generated by the turbines.

8. Wind energy is unreliable and needs a back-up system to work

Wind farms are a proven and reliable source of energy. All forms of power generation require back up and no energy technology can be relied upon 100%. Variations in the output from wind farms are barely noticeable over and above the normal fluctuation in supply and demand, seen when the nation's workforce goes home, or if lightning brings down a high-voltage transmission line. Therefore, at present there is no need for additional back-up because of wind energy.

Even for wind power to provide 10% of our nation's electricity needs, only a small amount of additional conventional back-up would be required, in the region of 300-500 megawatts (MW). This would add only 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour to the generation cost of wind energy and would not in any way threaten the security of our grid. In fact, this is unlikely to become a significant issue until wind generates over 20% of total electricity supply.

9. Wind power is expensive

The cost of generating electricity from wind has fallen dramatically over the past few years. Between 1990 and 2002, world wind energy capacity doubled every three years and with every doubling prices fell by 15%. Wind energy is competitive with new coal and new nuclear capacity, even before any environmental costs of fossil fuel and nuclear generation are taken into account. As gas prices increase and wind power costs fall - both of which are very likely, wind becomes even more competitive, so much so that sometime after 2010 wind should challenge gas as the lowest cost power source. Furthermore, the wind is a free and widely available fuel source, therefore once the wind farm is in place there are no fuel or waste related costs.

10. How do turbines operate?

Wind turbines are sophisticated machines with computer controls. A typical operating sequence is as follows:

When the wind speed reaches the cut-in speed of the turbine (usually around 10 mph), the turbine blades will spin up to operating speed, usually around 14 to 29 rpm (varies by turbine model), and start generating electricity. As the wind speed increases, the generator output increases. When the wind speed increases to the rated wind speed (usually around 30 to 35 mph), the generator will output its nameplate-rated capacity (i.e. a 750-kW turbine would now output 750 kW). As the wind speed continues to increase, the generator output will remain at the rated capacity (i.e. 750 kW) until the wind reaches the cut-out speed (usually around 55 to 65 mph). At this wind speed, the turbine will deploy its tip-brakes and then apply its disk brake, stopping the blades in a few revolutions. It will then rotate itself 90 degrees out of the wind and park itself. If the wind speed drops to a level below the cut-out speed for a sufficient length of time, the turbine will point itself back into the wind, release the brake, and resume power production.

11. The Green River wind farm project is in a flood zone, isn't it?

Mainstream understood this as a concern when we first looked at developing the project in this area. After consulting a third party Geotechnical Engineer and our environmental and permitting consultants, we have reached the conclusion that we can build in this area. Part of the reasoning behind defining an area as a "flood zone" is because constructing large structures can change the way water travels in the instance of a flood. When we reach the point of final layout and wind farm design, we will work with consultants to better map out the terrain so we can mitigate this concern.

Further, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an energy generating facility such as a wind farm needs to be "post disaster ready." We will make sure that the designs of the turbine foundation will be specified according to this regulation.

12. My land has an irrigation system/pivot on it. Can you still put a wind turbine here?

We understand that a large part of the project area has pivots on it. We will work with you and your neighbors to ensure that we can site as many turbines as possible on the land. However, due to setback requirements set forth by the county we may not be able to put as many as possible. We look forward to speaking with you individually about these issues and hope you contact us with any questions!

13. I hear that agricultural aviators (crop sprayers) aren't able to fly around turbines. Is this true?

There are a variety of issues surrounding the coexistence between agricultural aviators and wind farms.  We believe that through communication and negotiation we can find a way for our wind farm to coexist with local agricultural aviators. Mainstream believes that there is room for partnership between our windfarm and local agricultural aviators. 

14. Is personal property included in the valuation of a wind turbine for property tax purposes? Will I have to pay the property tax for wind turbines on my property?

The State of Illinois' Department of Revenue has a useful fact sheet to answer these questions, which can be found at: http://www.revenue.state.il.us/localgovernment/PropertyTax/windenergydevice.pdf

It states:
"Illinois does not impose personal property tax; as a result, any value attributable to the portion of the wind energy device that is to be considered "personal property" was excluded from the prescribed base fair cash value of $360,000."
It goes on to describe that the property that the wind turbine is situated on is included within the fair cash valuation. The way this is dealt with in Illinois is for the wind farm owner (ie Mainstream) to record a new plat for the land once the project is built, covering only the wind turbine and its approach road. The State is then able to send the property tax bill for the wind farm direct to the wind farm owner:

"Wind energy device owners must pay an Illinois registered land surveyor to prepare a plat that includes the metes and bounds description, including any access route, of the area immediately surrounding the wind energy device over which the owner has exclusive control. This platting requirement is not an official subdivision of the land under the Plat Act. Wind energy device owners must record the plat and deliver a copy to the CCAO within 60 days of completing construction of the device. The CCAO will then issue a separate parcel number for the property on which the wind energy device is located. The separate parcel number is issued so that the tax bill can be sent to the wind energy device owner when the device is situated on leased ground."

The lease agreement also makes clear that any additional taxes arising for the landowner as a result of the wind farm will be paid by Mainstream.

15. What will Mainstream do about the noise and shadow flicker impacts of the turbines?

Noise and shadow flicker are both real concerns that can have an impact if turbines are poorly sited, and so the key to this question lies in the location of the turbines. This is one of the reasons why we work so hard on the constraints mapping which we presented at the first landowners' meeting, and part of why we can't offer early promises on exactly where a turbine will be sited.

Modern turbines are much quieter than their predecessors, and the often-quoted line that you can stand underneath one and have a normal conversation is true. However, they are not silent, and if you visit one of the other wind farms in Lee or Bureau County you will hear the ‘swoosh' of the blades as they turn. Mainstream carries out thorough analysis on the noise impact of the turbines by initially carrying out a baseline study of the background noise in the area, and then working out the decibel increase which could be caused by each of the turbines being assessed (different turbine models have different profiles here).

Mainstream uses this analysis to help determine final siting of turbines, and ensure that they are far enough away not to cause any significant noise impact to any residence. This is further backed by the requirement to meet standards set by the Illinois Pollution Control Board, which regulates noise pollution for the state.

It is a similar situation for shadow flicker. Shadow flicker, as the name suggests, occurs when the turbine is in a line between a house and the sun, causing the rotating shadows of the blades to pass over the house continuously. With a properly planned wind farm, there is no reason for anyone sitting in their home to be affected by shadow flicker. Given that the house and the turbines do not move, and we know the movements of the sun through the year, any potential shadows to be cast over a residence can easily be calculated by the specialist software that Mainstream uses to design its wind farms. We can then adjust the planned layout of the wind farm in order that shadow flicker does not cause a problem.

There has been debate over recent years over the health effects of wind farms, and this is clearly an emotive subject. We do not believe there is any conclusive study which links any kind of detrimental health impact to wind turbines. Instead, we contend that wind generates electricity in a way that does not cause air pollution, generate greenhouse gases or produce hazardous waste. This is part of the attraction of renewable energy, and one of the many reasons why governments across the world promote the development of wind power.

The American Wind Energy Association has recently concluded a study on the health effects of wind farms, specifically related to the sound that they generate. The press release and a link to the full report can be found at:
http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/12-15-09-sound_panel_release.htm

16. I've heard that wind power gets a lot of subsidy from the government - is this true?

Yes. Renewable energy, including wind, is seen by government as being an activity that is worth supporting as part of the greater good for the country (similar to the Farm Bill, which originated back in 1973). It brings jobs, reduces pollution (including greenhouse gases), and reduces US dependence on foreign energy sources. It is therefore among a wide range of activities within the economy that receives government support in order to encourage further investment by the private sector.

However, the less well-known fact is that many sources of energy in the US receive support from the government. In 2007, Senator Lamar Alexander asked the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) to prepare an updated analysis of Federal subsidies for electricity generation, which it subsequently published last year. It found that:

"The increase in energy subsidies and support since 1999 is distributed widely across all energy groups. Changes in the distribution of subsidies by fuel type between 1999 and 2007 reflect a redirection of priorities. For example, subsidies for renewables increased from 17 percent of total subsidies and support in 1999 to 29 percent in 2007. Natural gas and petroleum related subsidies declined as a share of total subsidies primarily as a result of the expiration of the Alternative Fuels Production Tax Credit for the production of unconventional natural gas in 1999, whereas refined coal was the principal beneficiary of this tax expenditure in 2007. Coal-related subsidies, excluding refined coal, experienced a modest decline from 7 percent in 1999 to 6 percent in 2007."

Renewables, of which wind power forms a large part, are therefore seeing an increase in support from Government and this is set to continue. However, at 29 per cent it is clear that more than 70% of these subsidies are going to other forms of energy such as coal, gas and nuclear.

The full report is published at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/subsidy2/index.html.

17. How is safety handled during hunting season?

If you allow hunting on your property, let hunters know that they may encounter avian (bird) technicians and wind turbine technicians conducting various tasks on the property. These technicians will be wearing hard hats and may be wearing orange vests. Hunters should be aware of their presence.