An Illinois State University Professor of Economics does not support a move by the McLean County Board last week that prevented a change to the wind farm siting ordinance, sending the proposal back to the Zoning Board of Appeals for review.
Dr. David Loomis said he was “disappointed to see [the move], because it did seem, from my perspective, that all the parties had been notified or that folks had reached out to a lot of different people, but, apparently, it wasn't enough, and we're going to go through the cycle again."
Dr. David Loomis said he supports an open process and the effort to make the rules clearer to encourage further development in the county.
"It is important to have people weigh in on and have clear guidelines for the wind ordinance to make sure that developers are clear,” he said. “If they want to do a project, what those stipulations are going to be, before they contract with land and invest a whole lot of money."
Loomis released a study last week showing that the top 25 wind farms in Illinois will create an overall economic benefit of $6.4 million, backing the idea that steps to make wind farm development easier will increase that benefit.
