Green light for Walnut Ridge

Illinois county officials have approved Berkshire Hathaway’s 215MW Walnut Ridge wind farm, overruling the local zoning board of appeals that had rejected the proposal.

The Bureau County Board this week voted to grant conditional use permits for 118 turbines. Nine applications were denied because they were too close to two landing strips.

Walnut Ridge is owned by BHE Renewables, a wholly owned subsidiary of Iowa-based Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

The project includes two substations. BHE plans to start construction this year and achieve commercial operation in 2017.

The Walnut Ridge project will create roughly 300 construction jobs and 12 permanent jobs once the wind farm is operational, said the developer.

It will generate about $2.3m in tax revenue for the county, $1.25m in annual landowner payments and up to $42,000 in annual contributions to a local community fund.

Image: the permit is for up to 118 turbines (sxc)