The Will County Board voted Thursday to advance solar energy projects near Manhattan and New Lenox.
Soltage, a renewable energy provider, plans to build two 5-megawatt commercial solar energy facilities on 69 vacant acres at the southeast corner of West Manhattan Road and South Cherry Hill Road in Manhattan.
The company is planning to lease the land, which is the remains of a farmstead, for up to 40 years, according to the county.
One business that neighbors the proposed solar project, Green Glen Nursery, wrote county officials a letter of support, but the Manhattan Village Board unanimously voted to object to the plan.
The proposal is within 1.5 miles from Manhattan’s boundaries.
Mayor Mike Adrieansen said in a letter the village doesn’t oppose solar energy facilities, but the village wants this particular area to be used for commercial development.
“The proposed solar energy facility will disrupt the natural flow of our development,” Adrieansen wrote.
Manhattan Township did not object to the solar facilities but made several requests, such as planting a buffer of evergreen trees and shrubs along the north and west property lines and adding at least a 6-foot tall chain-link fence for security. The developer agreed to comply with the township’s requests, county documents said.
Township officials also requested that Soltage establish a line of credit that could be used if landscaping or fencing falls into disrepair or if the grass becomes overgrown.
The projects would generate enough electricity to provide power to about 2,000 homes, according to company documents. It would also bring about 75 jobs to the area throughout construction.
Native and pollinator grasses approved by the Will County Forest Preserve District will be planted under and around the solar panels to increase biodiversity, reduce erosion and support wildlife populations, company documents state.
The project, which was approved by a 15-6, vote, is expected to begin construction in mid-2025.
The county board also approved a project by ECA Solar and New Lenox Community Energy Initiative to build a commercial solar facility on just under 35 acres south of the Canadian National Railroad Tracks, west of South Spencer Road and north of Brogan Drive near New Lenox.
The New Lenox Village Board did not object to the solar facility, but requested fencing and rows of evergreen trees and shrubs.
The project was approved by an 18-4 vote.
No one from the public spoke in opposition to the two energy projects, and the board approved them without discussion.
Board member Judy Ogalla, a Monee Republican, voted against both solar projects saying later legislators in Springfield should not have control over local cases.
Illinois law sets statewide standards for wind and solar farm siting and says local ordinances cannot be more restrictive than the state standards.
Ogalla said there is no other industry in the state that abides by these rules, which takes control out of local officials’ hands who best know the area and residents’ wants.
“That is bothersome to me,” she said.
She said she is glad that the county can put conditions on the projects before granting a special-use permit and many solar energy developers have agreed to those conditions, include such requests as the number of mowings per year or types of plantings.
Ogalla also said solar energy projects are not compatible with farming.
“Because I am a farmer, I don’t support building solar, which is an industrial use on agricultural farmland,” she said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.