December 28, 2024
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Proposed La Salle County wind farm moves to permitting phase

UKA will be working on a series of studies to comply with regulations

By Shaw Local News Network
The northern part of Bureau County will start to look more like the southern part, shown here, now that work has begun on building 106 turbines, part of the Walnut Ridge Wind Farm project.

An 80-megawatt wind farm south of La Salle-Peru is moving from land acquisition mode to permitting. (Shaw Local News Network)

An 80-megawatt wind farm south of La Salle is moving from land acquisition mode to permitting.

In the next few months, UKA, an operator of wind and solar farms, will be working on a series of studies including environmental, avian, shadow flicker, sound and decommissioning, in order to comply with all local, county, state and federal wind farm regulations.

Hickory Wind is expected to contribute more than $20 million in property taxes for all taxing districts over the next 25 years, according to UKA.

“This tremendous achievement for the people of La Salle County and UKA would not have been possible without the dedicated support and engagement from landowners, local officials and community groups and businesses,” said Senior Project Manager Denis Onwualu at an event for participating landowners held at Cedar Creek Ranch in Cedar Point. “We are grateful for the support and look forward to becoming a long-time member of the La Salle County community.”

Onwualu said the project has received a completed facility study report from PJM, the transmission provider.

Residents with questions about the Hickory Wind project are encouraged to contact UKA’s local liaison Dan Churney, 1037 Shooting Park Road, Peru, via email at churney@uka-group.com, or via phone at 815-202-0317.