Wind power can be a major source of tax revenue, but officials struggle to get communities on board

PIPER CITY, Ill. — In Scott Saffer’s science classroom, kids bake cookies in a decked-out kitchen, care for fish, turtles and a snake, and have access to a workshop full of tools. “Those kinds of numbers, they’re the difference between us being here and not.” An Associated Press analysis of county tax data in Illinois found wind companies rank among the biggest taxpayers in many rural communities. An Associated Press analysis of county tax data from local governments in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska — states either with many wind farms or a high potential for wind power — found wind companies rank among the biggest taxpayers in many rural communities, with their total tax bills at times outstripping that of large farms, power plants and other major businesses. Tanner Pouilliard, a student in the Danville Area Community College wind tech program, poses for a portrait, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Danville, Ill. Wind projects bring jobs offering a career path. A training device for wind turbines sits on display, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at Danville Area Community College in Danville, Ill. Tanner Pouilliard, a student in the Danville Area Community College wind tech program, climbs up a ladder inside a wind turbine simulator, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Danville, Ill. Mike Marron, a former Illinois state representative and the current CEO of Vermilion Advantage, his county’s economic development arm, says the reality of wind’s benefits hit home when the money started hitting the county coffers, which were “running a pretty good budget deficit,” and effectively saved him from having to increase taxes on property owners at the time, about 12 years ago.