Allen County school districts received $50,000 stipends Tuesday from the Prairie Queen Wind Farm. The schools, as well as the Regional Rural Technical Center in LaHarpe and the county itself, can expect similar gifts for the next nine years, Allen County commissioners said, in return for the industry getting a 10-year property tax break.
EDP Renewables, which owns Prairie Queen, agreed to give a total of $250,000 a year until it goes onto the tax rolls, at which point it is expected to pay about $1.2 million a year in property taxes.
Also benefiting from Prairie Queen are more than 50 landowners who lease their properties across 14,000 acres. The leases are for 30 years but include options to extend the life of the wind farm up to 50 years.
