URBANA – The University of Illinois trustees won't be voting on a proposed Urbana wind turbine project at their March 23 meeting, though a deadline is looming.

The turbine would be near the intersection of Old Church and Philo roads, and has caused some concerns among Urbana residents.

That address isn't inside Urbana city limits, but it is within 1 1/2 miles. Under state law, the city can enforce its wind turbine zoning regulations within that radius, but there is disagreement over whether the rules apply to the UI.

The university has responded that perhaps the turbine could be moved west, but time is running out to garner some of the large grants that would make it possible.

At the trustees Monday Audit, Budget, Finance and Facilities Committee, trustees said they needed more time to find a "win-win wind turbine proposal" that would satisfy Urbana officials and UI students.

Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing said there were citizen concerns about noise, light and other conditions that might be affected by a proposed 400-foot wind turbine, part of a $5.2 million project supported in part by student fees.

Residents told Urbana officials they were concerned about real estate values, and a nearby farmer said it would interfere with his ability to spray crops.

Prussing said the UI had withheld information from the city, and is not acting like a good neighbor in this case.

"The best thing would be if they followed our (setback) ordinance. Urbana is also interested in the university doing the right thing," she said.

"This is a questionable project in terms of amount of money for what you would get in electricity. If the university wants to be a leader in sustainability, this isn't a good start."

But Suhail Barot, a graduate student who heads the Student Sustainability Committee, a financial supporter of the project, told trustees that delays are "death by a thousand cuts" to a project that will play a part in reducing the institution's dependence on fossil fuels.

Students "feel the university is morally responsible to complete this project," he said.

The project has been scaled back from an original three turbines. It was budgeted nearly eight years ago at $4.5 million.

That included a $2 million state grant, $1.5 million from the Urbana campus and $500,000 each from the UI presidents office and student fees.

Trustees agreed they need more time, and the UI will ask the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation for an extension on the deadline for utilizing the grant the university received, UI spokesman Tom Hardy said.

Trustee Ed McMillan, who chairs the committee, said "we intend to pursue an extension request with the Clean Energy Foundation and consider alternatives. We are not trying to abandon a commitment to energy sustainability by the nniversity, but hopefully we can find a win-win

solution."

The decision to create the turbine came years before most of the trustees came onto the board, he noted.