Kankakee County wind farm plan sailing along

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http://www.daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=435764

A billion-dollar wind energy installation across parts of four local counties moved a step closer to reality Wednesday, when the Kankakee County Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously recommended its approval.

The K4 Wind Farm, which Vision Energy Corp. proposes to build beginning later this year, will include 309 wind turbine towers, with 88 to be located on farms in southern Otto and Pilot townships in Kankakee County. It also would include 47 turbines in Iroquois County, 96 in Ford County and 76 in Livingston.

The Cincinnati-based Vision Energy has already won approval from the Iroquois and Ford county boards and the project is now under planning staff review in Livingston County. snip

Employment

Vision Energy President Turner Hunt said the firm projects employment of 150 construction workers for 10 to 12 months -- and up to 250 at the peak of construction, most of them to be employed from local labor unions.

Permanent jobs will be created for 20 to 30 wind turbine technicians -- electrical and maintenance employees who will live in the area and most likely to be hired from the area, he said.