COLES COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — After a four-month battle, a special use permit for a controversial Coles County wind farm is being recommended for approval.

The company Apex Clean Energy pitched the project at 14 different hearings, some of them lasting up to four hours. Some people in the county were against the project because of safety concerns, money not going directly to Coles County residents and other factors.

However, the county’s Planning and Development Committee sided with the company, who said this project is a positive for the community.

“We’re really grateful to Coles County and the Planning Development Committee for a really thorough hearing process with such a long period of time,” said Public Engagement Manager for Apex Clean Energy, Ray Hoover. “It was really important for us, throughout this entire development process, to work and listen to and address community concerns.”

Hoover also addressed some of those concerns. He pointed to the property tax the company would be paying, the jobs the project would create and that its 51 turbines would generate enough power to run 105,000 homes in the area.

Hoover said a date for the hearing to fully approve the project hasn’t been set yet, but he expects it to be held in the next two weeks.