Cambridge, Ill. —
Invenergy, which is planning to build 266 turbines in its Bishop Hill Wind Project – basically between Woodhull and Galva – has the lowest section of its first wind turbine and placed it onto a concrete pad two and a half miles northwest of Bishop Hill.
The farm is owned by Clarence and Hettie Green, who do not reside in this area.
Two other wind turbine towers in the project have also had their first sections placed, a company spokesperson said.
Two more sections will be added to all three towers before the blades are attached. That could happen later this week or, more likely, early next week, according to Invenergy Construction Manager Adam Hartman.
Once the blades are attached, area residents will begin seeing what the next several years – if not longer – will look like on the local landscape.
A small group of area residents watched Friday’s hoisting of the first tower section. More are expected when the blades are attached, since that’s the most visible form of the changing landscape. A gigantic crane will be erected to do the work.
The process in getting to this point has been long. The first announcement of possible wind turbines being built in this area was about five years ago.
Invenergy will build its 266 turbines in the Bishop Hill Project in two phases, with 133 turbines built in each phase. The project is expected to be operational before the end of 2012.
There are about 214 construction workers working on the project. That number will vary depending on the different stages of construction.
There are plans for a similar project in Knox County, known as Pilot Knob, in the Oneida area. That project is in the early development stages.
The Bishop Hill Wind Energy Center will be a 200-megawatt wind power electrical generation facility using GE 1.6 MW XLE wind turbine technology
“Invenergy is excited to move forward with construction of the Bishop Hill Wind Project,” said Kevin Parzyck, vice president of development for the Central Region. “We greatly appreciate the support for the project from citizens, local business and community leaders, and local and state officials. We look forward to a strong partnership with our host community and contributing to its economic development,and to creating a new source of clean, renewable energy in our home state of Illinois.”
Invenergy, founded in 2001, has its headquarters in Chicago. It has an office in Galva. Invenergy and its affiliated companies own and operate facilities in North America and Europe.
“Invenergy develops lasting relationships with the communities where its facilities are located,” according to the company fact sheet. “These facilities provide construction and operations jobs, payments to landowners and revenues for local government.”
At an informational meeting in Woodhull in January 2010, the company’s project development manager said 103 of the wind turbines will be in AlWood School Districtand will generate about $840,000 in tax revenue for the district.
At that meeting, the 40-plus people in attendance were told the life expectancy of the wind turbines is 25 to 30 years and once all 266 turbines are in operation, they will provide enough power for 600 homes.
Invenergy has easements for about 40,000 acres of land in Henry County. Because the wind farm facilities use only small portions of the land, information provided by the company is that the first phase of the project will use about 75 acres.
According to the listing for “Operations and Maintenance Technician” for the Bishop Hill project, the operations and maintenance people will “maintain and troubleshoot mechanical, electrical or control systems.” People hired for the position also will be involved in administration, such as “development of operating procedures, environmental reporting, purchasing and inventory.”
Technicians will work 40-hour weeks “and be subject to scheduled and unscheduled overtime. The work schedule will vary during the peak maintenance periods.”
The Bishop Hill Wind Energy Center is at 13578 N. 570th Ave., Cambridge.
By Doug Boock