A solar project that previously had county approval before needing it again because of a delayed timeline got a second go-ahead from the DeKalb County Board this month.

That project, a 5-megawatt commercial solar energy system, is expected to be situated on a 40-acre property on the west side of Polk Road in Genoa Township, according to documents submitted to the county.

The County Board initially greenlit the project in 2023 by approving a necessary special-use permit, but a stipulation of that permit was not met. Trajectory Energy Partners, the company behind the project, did not seek site development permits within 18 months of the County Board’s approval, thus voiding the first special-use permit.

With another special-use permit request for the project before the board, member Tim Bagby said not much had changed on the project since the board last saw it.

“This is a project that came before us a little over two years ago, I want to say, and the shape and size and parameters of the project are pretty much identical to [what] they were at that time,” said Bagby, who represents District 3.

In a 17-5 vote on Aug. 20, the County Board authorized a new special-use permit for Trajectory Energy Partners.

Both board members representing District 5 – Demorat Benjamin Haier and Republican Suzanne Fahnestock – voted against the permit request. They were joined in their opposition by three other Republican board members: Rebecca Johnson from District 12, Joseph Marcinkowski from District 11 and Laurie Emmer from District 4.

The new special-use permit also requires project leaders to seek site development permits within 18 months of the permit’s approval.