Grundy County Board rejects Norman Township solar farm

It took hours, but after hearing many residents explain why they’re for and against RWE Clean Energy’s plan for an about 960-acre solar farm in Norman Township, the Grundy County Board voted against the special use permit that would allow the project to move forward.

Joe Schiavone, Doug Boresi, Doug Ferro, Ann Gill, Joshua Harris, Eric Rasmusson, Drew Muffler, Deb Warning, Georgette Vota and Harold Vota all voted against the proposed solar farm.

James Riley, Greg Ridenour, Caleb Counterman, Nathanial Greene, Christina Jenkins-Likar and Dan Chesareck voted to give RWE Clean Energy a special use permit.

Bob Hammond, the property owner where the proposed solar farm would have gone had the board approved the project, said this plan has been years in the making. He feels the public’s and the board’s questions have been sufficiently answered.

“We have always considered ourselves good neighbors to the county during our 25 years that we farmed here,” Hammond said. “We know we will continue to do the same and the production of energy, like we said before, this is energy we’re producing here. We’re not producing corn anymore.”

Hammond said the county would see around $600,000 in yearly benefits for the taxing bodies with no additional burden.

Many others spoke in favor of the project, most notably Joon Park from RWE Clean Energy. He said his team has worked diligently to engage with the adjacent neighbors. Concerns addressed include adding a setback and planting trees around seven to 12 feet tall to hide the farm from public view better.

Park said there are 15 adjacent neighbors, seven of whom agreed to terms on the solar farm’s installation, three who preferred to remain neutral and three who are expressing concerns.

Many residents expressed concern that this would remove good farmland from use, which ultimately factored into the board’s decision to vote against the special use permit.

County Board member Drew Muffler said there isn’t a need for solar power because Grundy County is already between three energy stations in La Salle, Dresden and Braidwood. Muffler said an engineer he spoke to told him that wind and solar energy are unreliable because there isn’t a base of solar generation that a community can count on.

Greg Ridenour, who voted in favor of the plan, said there’s a need for a comprehensive plan for handling solar farms.

“The issue tonight is a private landowner, a farmer has entered a lease agreement in good faith with a private company,” Ridenour said. “This isn’t a company coming in to confiscate his land. He, as the landowner, decided to enter into a negotiation with said company and they came to an agreement.”

Ridenour said he understands that the nearby residents don’t want to see it. He respects that, but this is the case of a property owner having the right to enter into a contractual agreement that has followed the process, laws and ordinances.

In his decision to vote against the project, Muffler said they’re elected to represent Grundy County.

“They elected us not to follow every brain-dead law that comes out of Washington or Springfield, but to represent our constituents here in Grundy County,” Muffler said. “We have a clear mandate as far as that’s concerned. We have citizens of Grundy County that have taken time out of their own lives to come to these public meetings, which shows bravery, to be able to step before us for public speaking.”

Ultimately, the motion failed, and the board rejected the project.