CCNet Renewable Energy 12/21/2010 meeting draft notes
Tim’s Meeting Notes
The RE Group met on 12/21/2010 at the Beckman Institute. There were 17 attendees including
students (SECS), UofI Facilities and Services, two Urbana City Council members and one
Champaign County board member.
--There was a lengthy discussion about the Campus Wind Turbine Project.
--Morgan Johnston from F&S gave a brief update indicating that the project is now slated for
UofI Board of Trustees approval at their March meeting.
--F&S will be hosting an open-house style forum in January to answer many of the questions
posed at the 12/16/2010 mtg at the Urbana Civic Center.
--Morgan commented that it is clear that the project is now a single turbine project in scope
and would be the farthest south site.
--There are some indications that F&S might consider resiting the project to comply with
Urbana's 1200 ft. setback ordinance.
--County Board member Al Kurtz made extensive comments...he stated that the Champaign
County Wind Ordinance is one of the most comprehensive of its kind in the country (applies to
unincorporated areas of Champaign County beyond the 1.5 mile zone regulated by incorporated
cities like Urbana.
--He commented that several large wind power companies including Horizon (Dwight Farber
and Steve Poltz (Holtz?) are contacts) and Invenergy have planned projects in Champaign
County but that no applications for wind farms were filed in the recent past.
--He anticipates 200-300 1.5 MW turbines to be installed in CC in the next several years which
will create tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the County.
--It was suggested that Craig Grant (UofI F&S;[email protected] ) might be a good person
to speak with about what it is like to live near a large (1.5 MW; 400 ft. tall) turbine.
-He appreciated being invited to the conversation by CCNet as this was the first session he has
been able to attend on the topic
-He gave contact name for UI to communicate with the county road commissioner about weight,
turning radius, and route
We welcome suggestions for speakers for the Feb 8 meeting!
Upcoming Events:
January 11, 2011 - Public Presentation: Public Solar PV Presentation by Roch Dusey at the
Champaign Co. Libarary; 7 pm, Friends Rm 2nd Fl.
January 25, 2011 - Small CCNet-RE group meeting, 8am Beckman cafe lobby
Feb 7, 2011 - Public Presentation: Wind Power in Central IL (including the Campus Wind
Turbine Project) - Speakers TBD; 7 pm, location TBD
(Possibly Mon the 9th, TBA soon)
Feb 9, 2011 - Wind Siting, Zoning & Taxing Conference - Feb. 9, 2011
This conference is designed to discuss issues of importance regarding large wind farms to County Board
and Zoning Board members. Date: Wednesday, February 9, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Location: Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 201 Broadway Avenue, Normal, IL
For more information please click on the following link - http://renewableenergy.illinoisstate.edu/wind/
conferences/SZT2011.shtml
Andy’s Meeting Notes
Attendees:
Andy Robinson (SEDAC), Amy Allen (SECS), Alan Kurtz (Champaign County Board), Roch
Ducey (CERL), Shelley Mix (UI Public Engagement), Anthony Santarelli (IGBA), Jerry Goltel
(sp. CERL), Eric Jacobson (Urbana City Council), Gary Cziko, Morgan Johnston (F&S
Sustainability Coordinator), Tim Montague (Beckman Development), Marya Ryan (Urbana
Sustainability), Dee Dee Cavera (F&S outreach), Diane Marlin (Urbana City Council), Larry
Wood (CCNet), Suhail Barot (UI SSC), Brian Deal (UI Planning Prof)
CCNet Jan 11 Public Presentation on CERL’s solarPV installation in Hawaii
-Roch Ducey, 7pm Champaign Public Library, 2nd Floor
-He has included some information from Debbie Insana about her local uni-solar installation
Feb 7th CCNet Wind Meeting brainstorming
This might be a 1.5 hr meeting with 2-3 panelists speaking for 20min each then short moderated
discussion?
There is a possibility that the meeting could be moved to Monday Feb 7th- TBA soon.
Possible contacts:
Craig Grant: Morgan mentioned, works in UI code compliance, lives near a Bloomington turbine
Steve Holtz: Horizon project manager, contact mentioned by Al Kurtz
Al Kurtz: would be open to speak but is not available on tue or wed
David Loomis, Director of ISU Center for Renewable Technology
What is the federal subsidy for wind?
-30% installation tax credit, or now there is a treasury grant available upfront (this tax credit only
goes to those who pay taxes)
-or, Public Facilities who sell the power can take a 2.1 c/kWh production tax credit guaranteed
for 10 yrs
http://dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=US33F&re=1&ee=1
UI Wind Turbine Project Key Points
Morgan Johnston:
-Reiterated that the bids are still being confidentially negotiated, but that the rough budget of
$4.5m+ would only buy one and it would be put at the farthest south site
-The bid prices include the turbine, buried conduit to Race St, the crane, transportation
-Some discussion has started internally about the potential for moving the south location (Philo
and Old Church) a little farther west to be farther from neighbors (nearest neighbor is ~1080’ vs
1200’ desired)
-Timeline is changing to accommodate the March (not Jan 20) board of trustees meeting
-This may require discussing the timeline with ICECF regarding the May 2011 grant expatriation
-F&S is planning to hold a mid-to-late January public input meeting to begin to address
questions raised at the 12/16 meeting (maybe pubilc input cards can be put online too?)
-80m hub height (262’ with a red beacon light), 398’ total height to tip of blade (the two WILL
towers are 340’)
Al Kurtz:
-Appreciated being invited to the conversation by CCNet as this was the first session he has
been able to attend on the topic
-Gave contact name for UI to communicate with the county road commissioner about weight,
turning radius, and route
-Al shared several interesting points about Champaign County’s wind ordinance and the initial
talks he has had with 4 large-scale wind farm developers
-There was some discussion about the interpretations of the 1.5mile zoning rules between Al,
Morgan, Eric, and Diane.
Eric Jacobson:
-Eric stressed that the 1.5m zoning is not there to block wind development completely, but to
make sure there’s not an environmental problem for people nearby
Andy R:
-Would there be a good forum (city council meeting) to mention the adjusted timeline?
-Should F&S (or CCNet) mention the upcoming F&S public mtg in Jan at a UCC mtg?
-F&S is going to work with Suhail to update the office of sustainability wind website
http://sustainability.illinois.edu/ssc/windturbine.html
Diane Marlin:
-There is a Jan 10 Urbana City Council meeting where anyone is invited to add public input
-The mayor is also planning some sort of public hearing on the topic of wind (Jan/Feb?)
Brian Deal:
-There are campuses that have formed an energy corporation to take advantages of tax credits
(Luther College)