PEAKER PLANT BANNED UNTIL RESEARCH IS STUDIED
By Glen A. Sisk
Special to the Tribune
March 16, 2000
BEACH PARK -- A moratorium on the construction of peaker power plants has been unanimously approved by the Beach Park Village Board.
Village Trustee Roger Luther said the measure is not meant to oppose or support peaker power plants.
Rather, he said, the moratorium will give the village more time to examine research on advantages and disadvantages of plants, which are designed to produce power during periods of high use, such as hot summer days.
There are no plans for construction of a peaker plant in Beach Park, but Zion and developers have been talking about building one in the northern section of Zion.
"Unlike other municipalities in the area, we are not opposing Zion or the power plants," Luther said.
"The village is not taking a position on the issue itself, but the residents who live close to this project should have the facts," he said.
Luther said the board's action, like the moratorium passed by the Lake County Board on peaker plants a few months ago, gives residents an opportunity to wait for a neutral third party to research the potential impact on the community.
