Logan County Zoning Board of Appeals votes for Emden solar farm

 

[October 10, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

On Thursday, October 4th, the Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing to consider rezoning land in Emden. The rezoning would be for a special use that would allow the construction of a four-megawatt solar farm.

Daniel Solorzano, Project Development Manager for Forefront Power and Brian Schaffer, Senior Engineer for TRC Solutions shared the plans for the project with the ZBA and the 20 community members present.

Solorzano handed out site plans for the proposed solar project. Solorzano said in Illinois Forefront Power has more than 100 megawatts of two megawatt projects and applications in all over Illinois.

Solorzano talked about some of the benefits of community solar programs and the cost savings it could bring. Individual electric customers or organizations can apply to participate in the program that will lower their electric costs.

Solorzano said a typical farm acre produces about $24 of [property] tax and a solar acre produces about $480 of taxes [per year] throughout the 20 years, so the difference will be quite large.

Solarzano said the proposed project is on a 160-acre parcel at 2683 600th Avenue in Emden. The lease area will be in a 31-acre plot on the west side. Solorzano said there will be two sites on the parcel that are two megawatts.

ZBA Chairman Doug Thompson asked about the reason for two separate two megawatt applications.
Solorzano said it has to do with the state only allowing two megawatt farms initially.

Solorzano said there will be several arrays of solar panels, but they cause low visual and noise pollution. He said at 60 decibels, the inverter noise is lower than most voice levels. There will be one motion sensing light at the gate to the property.

Solorzano said to access the site they would install a 15-foot gravel access road. The access road site would be determined from engineering designs. The front yard setbacks are 60 feet, panels will be about 1,900 feet from the nearest house on the south side and 1,300 feet from the property line on the north side.

Solarzano said the site would be surrounded by a six-foot chain-link fence with a foot of barbed wire on top.

Solarzano said power will be generated through an AC inverter and underground cable that will go to an existing power pole on 600th Avenue and down to the substation three quarters of a mile south of the site.

Solorzano then said he wants to reach out to the community and address all the questions they may have.

ZBA Chairman Doug Thompson asked what grasses would be around the proposed area.

Schaffer said many solar farms around Illinois are using pollinator grasses to help butterflies and honeybees. He said they would choose whatever grass is “most advantageous” for the site.

Emden resident Diane Cheatham asked how the location was decided and which school districts the property taxes would go to. She also wanted to know how the solar farm would affect property values.

Solorzano said they looked at the availability of properties. Schaffer said some counties are slated to get more projects based on their population.
Thompson said taxes would go to Hartsburg-Emden School District.

Solorzano said the effect on property values in Illinois is not known right now, but in Maryland, solar farms have had no effect on property values.

One community member asked a question about construction costs.

Solorzano said he is not sure yet because there are many variables to figure out. Their plan is to hire local labor.

Another person asked if the ground would be bought or leased, how long a lease would last, and what happens to the ground afterwards.

Solorzano said it is leased from the owner for around 20 years typically. They would restore the ground the way the owner wants it, and it can go back to its original use if the owner wants it to. The company will have a decommissioning plan for the site.

ZBA member Scott Noltensmeier asked about the height and life expectancy of the solar panels.

Solorzano said they are 10 to 12 feet at the highest point. For the panels, the expectancy is about 25 years. They often run at 80 percent after 20 years.
Another question was about the lottery system for the solar program in Illinois.

Solorzano said getting chosen in the lottery system means the project gets a tax credit from the state. He said there are about 1,200 applications for the lottery and only 75 will get chosen this year.

Hartsburg Emden Superintendent Terry Wisniewski asked whether there is any timeline and how long construction would take.

Solorzano said they would know by January whether they were chosen in the lottery system and if so, construction could be done by next October.

Schaffer said they would start engineering plans after January if selected.

ZBA member Judy Graff asked about the decommissioning plan and maintenance of the site.

Schaffer said the rack system and panels would be taken off when decommissioned. He said they try to use ground that is level or “conveniently sloped” because they don’t want to degrade the land or level it. Grasses would be mowed at least a few times a year depending on what grasses are used.

Solorzano said a maintenance crew would come check the site every three months.

Thompson asked if there was a fire hazard from the panels. Emden resident Mike Kavanaugh asked how closely it is watched as far as fire hazards at dry times of the year.

Solorzano said there are typically no fire hazards. Schaffer said they typically do not start burning spontaneously and if there is an electrical shortage, they would know that through monitoring. The panels are remotely monitored 24 hours a day, so they know immediately when a panel is malfunctioning or something else is wrong.

Another question was about whether the panels are toxic at all.

Solorzano said no hazardous materials are used to make the panels. They meet all regulations and standards. Shaffer said they are made of silica.

ZBA member Cheryl Baker asked about whether solar panels get “torn up” when there is hail, high winds, or tornadoes.

Solorzano said the panels are designed to sustain “variable weather hazards” such as hail or snow and there is not a track record of damages. The panels are tilted in a way that snow will slide off them.

Someone asked what happens when there are problems.

Solorzano said they fix the problems because it is in their best interest to do that and to know about malfunctions.

Thompson asked where the panels would be manufactured and whether it would be in the United States.

Solorzano said he is not sure yet because many changes are happening in manufacturing. They will look wherever is cheaper and make sure the panels pass all standards. He said they would propose where they are having the panels manufactured before they are installed, but they will be made in the United States.

There was another question about whether the decommissioning plan was funded through a bond.
Solorzano said a bond is something they have done in other areas and could do here if requested. There would be a decommissioning fund.

Once the floor was closed to public comments, the ZBA members deliberated over the conditions.

Thompson said they first needed to make sure the Special Use would not be substantially detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare.

Thompson said the concern about fire hazards was the only possible issue he could foresee.

Baker said it sounds like it is all under control.

Thompson said the second condition to be considered is that Special Use will not be substantially injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purpose already permitted nor substantially diminish property values within the neighborhood.

Thompson asked whether there could be vegetation around the solar farm.

Solorzano said the company could provide a rendering of what the site would look like with vegetative screening. He said the remaining parcel would still be farmland.

The third condition is that the establishment of the Special Use will not substantially impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of the surrounding property for uses permitted in the district.

The fourth condition considered was whether adequate utilities, access roads, drainage or necessary facilities have been or will be provided.
 

Logan County Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea said a highway access permit is already one of the conditions.

The fifth condition considered was whether adequate measures have been or will be taken to provide ingress and egress so designed as to minimize traffic congestion in the public streets.

The ZBA also added seventeen conditions to be met prior to final approval of the Special Use permit. Many of these conditions are in the recently approved solar ordinance.

These conditions included:

• A statement regarding access. [It will allow the County, or its Authorized Agent appointed by the County, access to the property within 30 days of an inspection request by the County]
   

• A component UL listing [to show everything has been tested for safety].
   

• A provision of interconnection agreement and compliance with any utility notification requirements.
   

• Receipt of an EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System for Stormwater Control.
   

• Plans that show compliance with ground cover requirements.
   

• Prior to the issuance of building permits for the project, submission of a Professional Engineer (Licensed in the State of Illinois) foundation certifications [showing the foundation and design of the solar panels racking and support is within accepted professional standards]
   

• Plans that show compliance with underground power lines.
   

• A receipt of County Board approval of drainage tile and repair plan
   

• A Decommissioning plan to address all the requirements [such as the anticipated life expectancy of the solar farm, anticipated cost of decommissioning in current dollars and funding method(s), for the decommission and restoration of the project site to its original, natural condition].
   

• County Board approval of decommissioning plan.
   

• Posting of financial resources.
   

• Receipt of local fire departments review and acceptance of access road design.
   

• Receipt of purchase power agreement.
   

• Receipt of Driveway Access Permit in regard to the location and construction of the access road.
   

• Receipt of the executed Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement (AIMA).
   

• Revised plans to include rural address signs in compliance with County standards.
   

• Submission of final engineered plans for review and approval.

Baker made a motion to approve the Special Use permit with the seventeen added conditions.

The motion passed with Baker, Thompson, Noltensmeier, Bret Farmer, and Judy Graff all voting yes.

The Logan County Board will hear about the plans for the solar farm at their Workshop on Thursday, October 11th and vote on whether to approve its construction at the Regular Board meeting on Tuesday, October 16.

[Angela Reiners]