Current Efforts

Construction Update: June 29th - July 3rd

The health and safety of employees, contractors and communities are Blooming Grove Wind’s top priority. Construction at Blooming Gove Wind continues as it is an essential energy project. Protocols are in place to limit exposure to COVID-19 and we are monitoring the evolving situation and updating protocols as new guidance is issued.

Concrete pours are continuing in Chenoa Township and will move into Money Creek and Gridley Townships shortly. We are currently 68% complete with foundations.

All township road rocking and shoulder wedge installation are complete. All culvert work is done. However, there may be an occasional culvert that is replaced.

We will continue hauling turbine components to pad sites in Lexington and Chenoa townships at a rate of two full sets of components per day. We will be using flaggers and pilot cars as needed and will shut down road segments when necessary to deliver these components (usually just long enough to get the trucks through). You can see the delivery schedule in the table below.

All bridge jumpers have been installed. We expect to add rock to the bridge jumpers on July 2-3 for the western jumper bridge on 2700N near our laydown yard and July 8-9 for the other bridge to the west of our laydown yard on 2700N.

Line drops will continue in the area to assist crane walks. This will turn off electricity for local residents for a couple hours at a time.

Road Closure Anticipated Schedule for Next Week for Road Work:

Thursday: 2700N between 2550E and CH 23
Friday: 2700N between 2550E and CH 23

Blooming Grove Route Map

Delivery Schedule

Economic Benefits

During the life of the project, Blooming Grove Wind Energy Center is projected to pay millions of dollars in property taxes, lease payments to landowners, salaries to employees, and payments for local goods and services, resulting in a significant increase in economic activity in the McLean County area. Local schools and county infrastructure will benefit from the increase in tax revenue.

An Economic Impact of the Blooming Grove Energy Center was commissioned by Invenergy and performed by Dr. David G. Loomis, Professor of Economics at Illinois State University and Director of the Center for Renewable Energy.

$52M property taxes
over the life of the project

$119M Local Economic Impact
The project will invest nearly $120 million in local taxes, landowner payments, and wages and benefits over of the project.

Why Illinois?

Illinois is a national and world leader in wind power generation. 35.8% of the electricity in Illinois is generated by wind - which represents the highest share of wind power generation of any state. Illinois also ranks 5th in the nation for installed wind generation capacity. Illinians' electricity bills have remained well below the national average due to this abundance of wind energy. And Illinois' robust wind industry contributes greatly to the economy - to date, the wind industry has invested more than $8.4 billion into the Illinois economy.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL AWEA FACT SHEET

Wind Benefits Illinois

Total Investment: Wind developers like Invenergy have invested over $8.4 billion in Illinois
Annual Landowner Payments: Every year, wind farms in Illinois pay landowners over $10 - 15 million
Wind Industry Employment: The wind industry employs upwards of 5,000 people in Illinois
Wind Manufacturing Facilities: 34 facilities in Illinois produce products utilized by the wind industry, from blades and towers to the raw components, like fiberglass and steel, that comprise a wind farm.

Why McLean County?

The Blooming Grove Wind Energy Center is an unparalleled development opportunity for McLean County, with millions to be invested in the local economy over the life of the project. We selected McLean County for this project after intense and careful evaluation due to the:

Verified, strong wind resource
Flat and open land
Low environmental impact risk
Proximity to existing transmission infrastructure

We take our commitment to our local host communities seriously and look forward to continuing to work closely with McLean County, contributing to the area's economic development, and to providing an additional supply of clean, homegrown energy in Illinois.

Environmental
Benefits

Environmental Benefits

To avoid and minimize impacts to wildlife and other natural resources, we work with state and federal agencies and other interested stakeholders to site, build, and operate our facilities responsibly. The cornerstone of that effort is our commitment to act in accordance with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Land-based Wind Energy Guidelines, which includes robust pre-construction wildlife and habitat surveys, early and often communication with wildlife agencies, and operational monitoring to ensure risk to wildlife is minimized.

Impact on
Roads

Impact on County Roads

As required by the Wind Ordinance of the McLean County Code, all County roads and infrastructure will be left in the same or better condition than they were prior to their use for the construction or on-going maintenance and repair of a wind energy project, and that such repairs will be completed at no cost to McLean County.

Impact on
Farming

Land

Wind turbines and access roads have a very small footprint. Approximately 98-99% of land will remain viable for agricultural use, allowing wind energy to support the agricultural industry and landowners to continue farming their land. Invenergy holds itself responsible for preventing soil erosion and for correcting any impact on tillable soil, drain tile, or grasslands that may occur.

About The Project