School district to see increased revenue from wind farm

The Paxton-Buckley-Loda School District should see a $1 million increase in revenue thanks to construction of the Pioneer Trail Wind Farm east of Paxton. That means property tax bills for homeowners should see a savings next summer.

All of the 94 turbines owned by the wind farm are in the school district boundaries and valued at $215,000 each. Southern Illinois Power Cooperative, Wabash Valley Power Association and Prairie Power, Inc., which together supply the majority of the wholesale electricity to the state’s electric distribution cooperatives, purchased 40 megawatts of the wind energy from the wind farm in an 18-year contract.