Wind farm surveys are a niche market, just like the wind farms themselves.  More complex than a regular boundary survey, wind farm surveys involve working with large areas of land and many individual land owners, often located in multiple townships or counties.  The work requires establishing the overall boundary, as well as each parcel inside the boundary, to make sure that each individual turbine meets local county setback restrictions for its own specific location.  Once a wind farm has the approval of local government, the tasks necessary for completion of the farm have to be accomplished quickly and accurately, usually requiring dedicated manpower and an extreme will to succeed. 

This is a challenge that WHA has risen to meet time and again, and we are proud to have become a specialist in the new industry, with five years of continuous work providing professional surveying services for the wind farm industry in northern Illinois. 

In 2003, WHA was at the forefront of the local wind energy revolution, working closely with Navitas Energy and Lee County on Mendota Hills, the first utility-scale wind farm in Illinois.  The 63 turbine wind farm project covered 2,600 acres in four townships in the southeastern corner of Lee County.  WHA’s work for the monumental wind farm included boundary surveys, topographical maps, lease area descriptions, construction staking, ALTA / ACSM surveys, and as-built surveys. 

Soon after construction was completed on Mendota Hills, WHA was hired by GSG Wind Energy of Sublette, Illinois to perform similar work on their 2,850 acre wind farm in Lee and LaSalle Counties, just southwest of Mendota Hills.  It placed 19 turbines in Lee County and 21 in LaSalle County, and will have the capacity to generate 80 megawatts of power.  24,000 homes are expected to be powered by the turbines, which stand 395 feet tall at the blade tip. Construction was completed in July 2007 on the GSG Wind Farm, with talk of a second phase being considered in a few years.

WHA was hired to survey yet another wind farm for Navitas Energy, this one located in northern Ogle and southern Stephenson Counties.  Known as the Baileyville Wind Farm, it will encompass 5,300 acres and be home to 41 wind turbines, with the capacity to produce 80 megawatts of power. 

WHA has recently undertaken the task of surveying the Grand Ridge Wind Farm in LaSalle County for Invenergy Wind, LLC.  This project will be built in several phases, ultimately placing 233 turbines across 25,000 acres of farmland.  When completed, this wind farm will be the fourth largest in North America, with each turbine capable of producing enough electricity to supply 400 homes.

With the ongoing concern over  the environment, fuel prices and supply, wind energy is becoming a very viable source of power.  The staff at Willett, Hofmann & Associates has enjoyed working with our wind farm clients, and  is proud to have diversified its survey department to meet the needs of our clients in the growing market of farming the wind.