A capacity crowd filled a conference room at the Holiday Inn/Grand Prairie on Sept. 14, when opponents mingled with supporters, such as analyst Hanna Franklin (foreground).
BILL KNIGHT
About an hour before Peoria County’s Zoning Board of Appeals started days of hearings about Four Creeks’ proposed wind farm, a heavy-haul semi-truck carrying a long windmill blade passed Interstate 74’s Kickapoo-Edward Road exit, and one wondered whether yard signs or county hearing notices would withstand strong winds.
More than 100 people were at the Holiday Inn/Grand Prairie on Sept. 14 for the first day of testimony, and at presstime a few more hearings had occurred with far fewer people in attendance. The first round was set to conclude Sept. 18, with separate hearings scheduled for Sept. 28-
Oct. 1. The ZBA will then make its finding, and if any Special Use or Rezoning changes are suggested, the county’s Land Use Committee will review them and forward its recommendations to the County Board.
Four Creeks has opportunities to appeal to the Circuit Court.
In the works for about four years, Four Creeks’ proposal is to build 113 turbines, each more than 600 feet tall, in an area between 27,000 and 40,00 acres in Brimfield, Jubilee, Millbrook and Princeville townships in northwest Peoria County. If approved, the $1.5 billion project could be online in 2029, when it would generate an estimated 500 megawatts (MW) of energy, potentially powering more than 160,000 Illinois homes a year.
Opponents — dozens of whom having hired Rockford attorney Rick Porter to represent them — cite concerns such as possible effects on broadcast reception, noise, appearance, risks to birds and effects on property values.
Supporters — Four Creeks is represented by Peoria Heights attorney Seth Uphoff — stress financial benefits to area taxing bodies and landowners willing to host the wind turbines, hundreds of jobs during months of construction, and a sustainable source of power the area needs, according to project manager Carson Robers.
Four Creeks estimates that the wind farm will give school districts in Brimfield, Princeville, Stark County and Williamsfield together about $199 million over a 40-year operation, or about $5 million annually. Although landowner terms are confidential, those agreeing to have towers on their land get between $8,000 and $33,000 a year, according to a 2024 U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service report.
Four Creeks Wind Project is owned by Repsol, a publicly traded global corporation based in Madrid, Spain, with more than 2,000 subsidiaries including Repsol Energy North America and Repsol Renewables.
Repsol builds and runs low-carbon power generation via wind farms and solar installations, and invests in renewable hydrogen, biofuels and electric charging stations. It was one of the first major energy companies to commit to achieving zero net emissions by 2050.
Repsol, which reported an annual net income of $2.073 billion (USD) for fiscal 2025, also works to find and extract crude oil and natural gas, refines oil into fuels, asphalts and other products, distributes products commercially, including a network of service stations, and delivers electricity, natural gas and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) to households.
Presiding over the ZBA hearings was retired judge Scott Shore; attorney Andy Keyt was on hand to represent Peoria County.