Wind Farm Siting, Zoning and Taxing Conference in Peoria, Feb. 4

The Illinois Wind Working Group (IWWG) will host a Siting, Zoning, and Taxing Wind Farms in Illinois conference on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at the Pere Marquette Hotel in Peoria.  The conference is hosted by Illinois State University through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, and designed by the IWWG which consists of over 100 key wind energy stakeholders from the State of Illinois.

This full day conference will feature speaker panels to discuss the duties of county boards and zoning boards regarding wind developments, taxation of wind farms and wind opposition facts, myths and solutions.

Register for the Siting, Zoning & Taxing Wind Farms conference by Friday, Jan. 30.  The cost to attend is $20 for government employees, county board members, and zoning board members, $50 for all others.  To register, or for more detailed information on this conference or the IWWG, please visit www.wind.ilstu.edu/conferences/siting.htm

"The conference is designed for county board members, zoning officials, wind developers and attorneys," said David Loomis, director of Illinois State University's Center for Renewable Energy, which administers the IWWG.  "We will discuss the legal duties of board members, Illinois tax legislation concerning wind farms, and arguments often heard from wind farm opponents."

Panelists and moderators include Kyle Barry, McGuire Woods LLP; Mike Bigger, Stark County; James Greenberger, Reed Smith LLP; James Griffin, Schain, Burney, Ross & Citron; Thomas O'Neill, Peoria County; Pete Poletti, Poletti and Associates; Jeanne Rapp, Livingston County; Nick Rigas, EcoEnergy; Wendy Ryerson, Lee County; William M. Shay, Attorney at Law; Karen Tyrell, BHE Environmental; Hope Whitfield, Scain Burney Ross & Citron; Michael J. Wynne, Reed Smith LLP; and Jim Yeoman, Stephenson County.

The event is sponsored by BHE Environmental, E.On Climate & Renewables, Farnsworth Group, Horizon Wind Energy LLC, Iberdrola Renewables, Natural Resources Consulting, Reed Smith LLP, and TradeWind Energy LLC.

 

 

 

The IWWG is affiliated with the Department of Energy's Wind Powering America's state Wind Working Groups.  The group is administered by Illinois State University's Center for Renewable Energy consisting of David Loomis (Economics), David Kennell (Technology), and Randy Winter (Agriculture). The IWWG is designed to communicate wind opportunities honestly and objectively; interact with various stakeholders at the local, state, regional, and national levels; and promote economic development of wind energy in the state of Illinois. 

The Center for Renewable Energy at Illinois State University was approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education in August, 2008.  The Center has three major functional areas: supporting the renewable energy major at Illinois State University; serving the Illinois renewable energy community by providing information to the public; and encouraging applied research on renewable energy at Illinois State University and through collaborations with other universities.

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