Rail Splitter Wind Farm

The Rail Splitter Wind Farm is a 67-turbine wind farm in northern Logan County and southern Tazewell County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The wind farm is near the towns of Delavan, Hopedale, and Emden on a glacial moraine known as Union Ridge.

Rail Splitter Wind Farm
Country	USA
Location	Emden, Illinois
Coordinates	40°18′0″N 89°24′0″W
Status	Active
Construction cost	$221 million
Operator	EDPR NA
Employees	20
Wind farm
Type	Onshore
Power generation
Units operational	67 x 1.5 MW
Make and model	GE sle
Nameplate capacity	100.5 MW
Storage capacity	100.5 MW
External links
Website	https://www.edpr.com/north-america/rail-splitter-wind-farm

Eastern portion of the farm

Operation

The turbines generate a maximum of 100.5 megawatts of electricity.^[1] The wind farm is owned and operated by EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA), formerly Horizon Wind Energy.^[2] The wind turbines that constitute the farm are centered on the town of Emden on both sides of Interstate 155. The wind farm, constructed in 2008–2009 at a cost of $200.0 million, was dedicated on July 21, 2009.^[3][4]

Expansion

Rail Splitter II is a wind farm that will be located in Tazewell County, near the townships of Boynton, Hopedale, Hittle, and Little Mackinaw. The expansion will add capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) with 20-28 planned turbines. The model is expected to be determined in 2023.^[5][6]

In June 2022, a group of Mackinaw farmers known as United Citizens of Tazewell County LLC presented a rewrite of the county ordinance for wind farms. If passed, this change would affect the turbines at Rail Splitter and the proposed Rail Splitter II.^[7]