An energy venture worth pursuing
What do you get when you cross a school funding crisis with a clean-energy initiative?
Officials with three suburban school districts hope the answer lies in a downstate wind farm that could save them $2 million in a year in electric bills. And we think they are on to something.
In recent years, wind power has entered the suburban psyche to mixed reviews. While some see it as a sustainable energy source that can cut costs, others fear the movement will become a boondoggle. Conflicts have surfaced. In Libertyville, a company was sued by neighbors irritated by the sound of its turbine. Some towns have set moratoriums on new turbines until further study.
It's natural for tension to accompany new ideas that have such public impact, but we have been impressed with the way Carpentersville-based Community Unit District 300, Keeneyville Elementary District 20 and Prospect Heights District 23 have brought about their plan to build a 19.5-megawatt wind farm in Stark County, 140 miles southwest of Chicago. The electricity generated will offset energy bills, perhaps leaving money that can fill gaps caused by the state budget mess.
Put in perspective, a wind farm that size could provide electricity for about 5,000 homes annually.
Three years in the making, the proposal had to be reworked again and again as school officials sought a financial model that would comply with state laws and protect taxpayers from losses.
The breakthrough came in legislation sponsored by state Rep. Fred Crespo, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates. It allows school districts to form consortiums that can issue bonds and opens the way for schools to fund renewable energy projects.
Now the school districts can proceed. They plan to use a federal grant, tax credits and cash from the sale of the electricity to pay off private investors and bond holders.
In the coming weeks each district will vote on formalizing the consortium. We urge officials to forge ahead on what appears to be a promising effort. Risks are inherent in any new venture, and any savings from this project wouldn't be realized right away. But with Illinois still far from financial solvency, longer-term solutions make good policy for schools.
The legislation was designed to push this particular project along, but it's certainly not limited to the school trio. School officials throughout the suburbs should be watching closely. This experiment is one way we'll begin to determine whether these forms of renewable energy and intergovernmental cooperation are solid options for the future.