District 300 [Carpentersville –Hampshire] is currently a member of an informal School Wind Consortium that also includes Keeneyville District 20 and Prospect Heights District 23. In that group, the districts work together to investigate opportunities and legislation to make a wind farm “legally and financially feasible” for them.
Under the proposal before the board, the trio would formalize their efforts by agreeing to an intergovernmental agreement. The districts would then work together to explore building a 10-turbine wind farm downstate. Any spending from the district would have to come back to the board for another vote.
The money – an estimated $2 million a year after six years – made from the wind farm would be used to offset the district’s energy costs. A private investor would have control of the farm for the first six years and benefit from certain tax incentives, a move that would remove any out-of-pocket costs for the district.
