The LaSalle County Zoning Board of Appeals on Aug. 20 recommended that the County Board approve two special-use permits for single-turbine community wind projects proposed by New Leaf Energy in Fall River Township, forwarding both petitions with conditions.

The projects each propose a 4.8-megawatt turbine sited on agricultural parcels south and north of East Twentieth Road (nearest addresses 2520 and 2580 East Twentieth Road). The petitioner said the turbines are sized to produce roughly 1,500 homes’ worth of electricity per turbine and will interconnect to the Ameren distribution system. Project materials and studies submitted to the county included an IDNR EcoCAT review, US Fish & Wildlife IPaC correspondence, FAA determinations, shadow-flicker and sound modeling, a decommissioning plan tied to AIMA financial-assurance standards, a transportation/haul-route assessment, and an emergency-response plan.

Why it matters: The proposals raise recurring zoning and public-safety questions — sound, shadow flicker, bird and bat impacts, drainage at small stream crossings, and heavy-component haul routes — and the board attached conditions intended to document and manage those risks before or during construction.

Most important facts
- New Leaf Energy presented two companion petitions for one 4.8-MW turbine on each of two parcels (about 101 acres for the southern site, about 62 acres for the northern site). The applicant said both sites rely on the same technical studies.
- The applicant and consultants told the board the predicted maximum sound level at nearby receptors is about 43 decibels and that the shadow-flicker model predicts up to about eight hours per year at the nearest nonparticipating receptors. The consultant also stated the projects meet Illinois Pollution Control Board octave-band limits in the submitted report.
- IDNR requested curtailment during a specified bird-migration window; the project team said it “committed to that curtailment,” as incorporated into the site design and economics.
- LaSalle County Soil and Water staff said it does not perform a full LISA on turbines but reviewed the natural-resource inventory and worked with the applicant on drainage crossings; the applicant redesigned access crossings to match district specifications.
- The applications include a site-specific decommissioning estimate, and the board required financial assurance consistent with the AIMA before building permits.
- The applicant plans to install a temporary MET (meteorological) tower; staff said a MET tower will be erected to collect additional wind data for financing. The applicant told the board MET-tower data collection is planned to begin in September.

Discussion and conditions
Board and staff discussion focused on haul-route geometry and temporary road modifications for oversized turbine components, local drainage crossings and compliance with Soil & Water specifications, emergency-response coordination with the Grand Ridge Fire Department and LaSalle County Emergency Management, and the need for model-specific noise and shadow-flicker validation at the building-permit stage. The land use director read a set of conditions the board attached; among the board’s requirements were: that the owner post financial assurance for decommissioning consistent with the AIMA before permits are issued; that road-use and township/county road agreements be executed before building permits; that the owner provide yearly third-party inspection certificates and maintain a complaint log, a public telephone/email contact for complaints, and that LaSalle County may procure independent testing at the owner’s expense if warranted. The board also required adherence to IDNR and Soil & Water recommendations and coordination of annual emergency-response drills.

What proponents said
Project developer Austin Buscher, New Leaf Energy, summarized the filings and asked the board for consideration: “I appreciate everyone’s time tonight and consideration.” Civil and environmental consultants described the site layout, drainage crossings, noise and shadow studies, and a decommissioning estimate built on RSMeans unit costs and prevailing-wage assumptions.

What staff and opponents said
Vicky (LaSalle County Soil and Water) told the board that county practice is to forgo a full land-evaluation/site-assessment score for individual turbines because the turbine footprint is small: “Traditionally, on wind turbines, we do not do a land evaluation and site assessment.” Peter (project civil engineer) confirmed the team committed to IDNR’s requested seasonal curtailment: “We committed to that curtailment,” and said it was incorporated in the design.

Outcome and next steps
After attaching the written conditions, the Zoning Board voted to recommend approval of both petitions and set the petitions to be presented to the County Board on Sept. 8, 2025. If the County Board approves the permits, the conditions the zoning board attached will be enforceable through the county’s permitting and code compliance process; several conditions must be satisfied before a building permit is issued, including road agreements and financial assurance for decommissioning.

Remaining uncertainties
The petitioner has not yet chosen a final turbine model; the board required that if the turbine model differs from those analyzed in the special-use packet, model-specific noise and shadow-flicker studies demonstrating ordinance compliance be submitted with any building-permit application. The MET tower proposed for data collection is temporary and the applicant told the board it planned to erect it before construction, but the data-collection period and final financing or procurement arrangements remain to be completed.