BONFIELD – Drive out to Bonfield and you'll see the signs: NO SOLAR. Residents found out in late October about the proposed Cypress Creek Renewables solar farm, which will cover 430 acres of former farmland in a township of about 1,300 residents.

There's a loose consensus among the residents who don't want the project to go forward: We don't have a problem with solar energy. Build it, but not near homes. Build it, but don't neglect the importance of farmland. Build it, but not here.

"It doesn't feel good at all. It bothers me," said Sally Peters, who moved to Bonfield a year ago to enjoy rural life. "Next to us, there are these huge electric towers that buzz all summer and we have the nuclear plant, and I think, how much energy do we need in one spot? We moved out here for the quiet."

A loss of peace and quiet isn't the only thing residents are worried about. About 50 families have organized to discuss their concerns, from pollution to property values to possible health risks.

One of those leading the charge is former Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Kendall Wenzelman.

"It is massive, 430 acres. We live in a rural community. To have something like that be plopped in the middle of us is going to completely change the character of the community in which we live," Wenzelman told the county board at the December meeting of the Planning, Zoning and Agriculture Committee.

Wenzelman commends Kankakee County for even having ordinances governing solar farms, something other areas have yet to reckon with, but says the rules as written give priority to the companies over residents.

"There's something wrong with the ordinance," he said to the board. "Something needs to be looked at. We are residents that have been out here for years providing a tax base to the county. We need your protection to look after our interests."

As it stands, the ordinance primarily guides the construction of solar farms, including standards for how far the farm should be from homes, how large it should be and how much noise it can make. There are no provisions protecting the residents, who have hired an attorney to represent them when the process moves forward.

While Cypress Creek has yet to submit an application to the county, Senior Developer Scott Novack says the company is committed to hearing input from the community.

"With more than 600 construction jobs and an eye toward hiring local whenever possible, Cypress Creek is very much looking forward to making a significant local impact. A project this size is estimated to inject nearly $40 million into the local community during the construction period," Novack wrote in an email to the Daily Journal. He added there won't be permanent jobs at the farm, but that "ongoing operational expenses" will contribute another $640,000 annually to the Bonfield area.

For those against the project, this isn't enough.

"County people are a lot different," said Rosemarie Delya, who has lived in her house for around 10 years with her husband, John. "Different ethics. We want to take care of the land and the animals."

As for wildlife, Novack added that "Cypress Creek initiates all environmental and ecological evaluations to understand and adjust appropriately should there be any potential impacts to local wildlife. ... It is also important to note, however, there is no dangerous or harmful equipment on an operating solar farm that will provide any threat to birds or wildlife."

Some residents are concerned about the dangers not only to wildlife, but to people.

"I didn't just say 'not around my place.' I'm saying don't build it around people. Build somewhere else. I'll even help you," John Delya said.

A national survey conducted by the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition found some manufacturers use materials, such as lead or cadmium, in construction, though the industry is in transition and there's no evidence solar farms present a significant health risk.

"There are no chemicals, fluids or materials that are capable of entering the environment," Novack wrote.

For many residents, a more immediate concern is property values.

"A lot of us in 40 years will be dead. Our homes we built are for our futures. We want to be able to sell and retire, and we won't be able to do that," said Tonya Wenzelman, Kendall Wenzelman's sister-in-law.

While the effects of solar power farms on property values still are unclear, researchers have looked at the effects of wind energy facilities as a comparison. In the most comprehensive study to date, the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory looked at 7,500 homes across the country, which were as far as 10 miles and as close as 800 feet from wind turbine facilities. The researchers found no significant impact on the selling price of those homes.

Cypress Creek has commissioned an impact study that showed there won't be an effect on the real estate market, but anecdotally it's a different story. A house in the area has been on the market for several months to no avail, leading neighbors to wonder if they'll also be stuck with devalued houses.

"They said property values won't decrease. Does that make logical sense? Think about it. Who wants to buy a house surrounded by solar panels?" Peters said.

Whether or not the solar panel will benefit Bonfield, it will change it. "We could sit back and not do anything, but we're trying to be proactive for ourselves and the county as a whole, said Kendall Wenzelman, "We invite anyone to join us."