Rural Development Electric Program

Success Stories

On April 20, 2009, The Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, headquartered in Auburn, Illinois, held a dedication and ribbon cutting of its 900 kW Gob Nob wind turbine. The turbine was constructed in December 2008 and started producing electricity on March 5, 2009. The project was constucted on Illinois Department of Natural Resources property, the former site of the Freeman Crown I coal mine. The 230 foot wind turbine was erected on top of a 60 foot former gob pile, putting the blades at a higher elevation to catch maximum wind currents. The 900 kW turbine feeds power into the nearby Farmersville substation and will provide enough power for about 300 homes of the cooperative's members. That's about five percent of the total demand on the co-op's system on a hot day.

The project cost $1.8M. Grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program, the Illinois Deparment of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation provided about $750,000 of that total. The remainder was financed with a 15-year zero interest loan through the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds program created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

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