County Approves Two Solar Energy Projects, Committee Discusses Zoning Challenges

The Will County Land Use and Development Committee approved two commercial solar energy projects Wednesday despite objections from the Village of Manhattan regarding one of the proposals.

In a 6-1 vote, committee members approved a special use permit for Gene LP’s plans to construct two adjacent 5-megawatt solar facilities on property near the southeast corner of West Manhattan Road and South Cherry Hill Road in Manhattan Township.

“The village of Manhattan is objecting to the request,” said Marguerite, a county planning staff member. “They see this being residential in the future as opposed to a solar facility.”

Despite the village’s concerns, the developer made several concessions to address township concerns, including adding a 15-foot vegetative buffer along Cherry Hill Road to the west and Manhattan Road to the north, installing a minimum 6-foot tall chain link fence with a rail across the top, and underground interconnection.

“We’ve generated over 120 solar projects across 15 states, including 11 community solar projects in Illinois,” said Stephanie Sankowski of Saltage LLC, the project developer. “We’ve worked closely with Manhattan Township and have made several commitments to them.”

Manhattan Township Supervisor Jim Walsh expressed qualified support for the project, noting the developer had been responsive to township concerns.

“Saltage has been pretty darn good to deal with so far, as far as solar farms go,” Walsh said, adding that his primary remaining concern was ensuring the power connections remain underground rather than on poles, which he described as “one of the things that catch your eye when you go by a solar farm.”

The committee also unanimously approved a special use permit for a 4.95-megawatt commercial solar energy facility on vacant property on South Spencer Road in New Lenox Township, proposed by Anita D. Batson Revocable Trust. That project received no objections from the Village of New Lenox, which provided seven recommended conditions, including the addition of a sidewalk along the east side of the property.

Colin Walker of ECA Solar, representing the New Lenox project, described it as “uniquely placed wedged between a number of infrastructure” elements, including a railroad and transmission line to the north and water infrastructure for the village to the south.

During discussion of the projects, committee members raised broader concerns about the proliferation of solar projects in the county. Member Newquist noted, “We’ve seen over 80 in the last 15 months” from “at least a dozen” different vendors.

She suggested limiting the number of projects per geographic area: “I would like to have a rule where we only permit like two per so many square miles.” She acknowledged state statutes currently prevent such limitations.

Member Ogala, who serves on the Illinois wind and solar task force, said state legislators are beginning to hear local concerns about solar project siting.

“This year we have seen more bills submitted by our state legislators to try and give us some control back,” Ogala said. “If we see a situation where we have way too many in one area, we’re just going to deny it and see how that goes in the court system.”

Both approved solar projects include variances allowing reduced mowing requirements and taller ground cover to support pollinator habitats within the facilities, while maintaining more frequent mowing and shorter vegetation along roadways.