Steward Creek 1,200-megawatt solar facility earns ZBA approval; to Lee County Board next

DIXON — A request for a special use permit to build Phase 2 of what would be one of the largest solar facilities in the country earned the backing of the Lee County Zoning Board of Appeals.

On March 6, ZBA members unanimously voted to recommend the Lee County Board approve Hexagon Energy LLC’s petition to be allowed to build Phase 2 of Steward Creek, a 1,200-megawatt commercial solar energy facility.

“Over the 35-year project life we have these agreements for, [phases 1 and 2] are estimated to bring in approximately $174 million in tax revenue to Lee County,” said Will Hantzmon, Hexagon Energy senior development manager.

Phases 1 and 2 of Steward Creek each are designed to produce 600 megawatts and together will cover approximately 9,000 acres, according to Hexagon Energy’s special use permit application. Steward Creek’s second phase alone will create enough clean energy to power approximately 116,300 homes, the application states.

Hexagon Energy, a Virginia-based company doing business in Illinois as Steward Creek Solar LLC, received a special use permit for Phase 1 from the Lee County Board on Nov. 19, 2020.

The project site is in Alto and Willow Creek townships; its boundaries are Ogle County to the north, DeKalb County to the east, U.S. Route 30 to the south and Interstate 39 to the west.

The ZBA’s March 6 vote came after two public hearing dates — Feb. 20 and Feb. 28 — during which a total of about 3 1/2 hours of sworn testimony and public comment were heard.

Sterling-based attorney Tim Zollinger facilitated all three meetings. He was there as a neutral party meant to rule on the admissibility of evidence and on any objections.

There are seven factors considered when deciding whether to grant a special use permit for a commercial solar energy facility, Zollinger said at the start of the Feb. 20 meeting. They are applied as part of a balancing test, and not all have to be met to get a permit, he noted.

“It’s an overall balancing of whether or not the factors weigh in favor of granting the petition,” Zollinger said. The burden of proof is on the petitioner, he said.

The ZBA determined that Hexagon Energy’s special use permit application meets all seven factors in Lee County Ordinance 2023-05-003.

However, the ZBA’s recommendation for approval included additional conditions beyond what is laid out in the ordinance.

The conditions include, but are not limited to, that Hexagon Energy maintains appropriate approved decommissioning obligations within the land lease agreements; provides and keeps up-to-date evidence of financial security for the project; maintains a phone- or web-based portal through which the public can notify Hexagon of any issues; submit a proposed emergency response plan related to the battery energy storage system – or BESS – that was prepared in consultation from area fire protection agencies; update that BESS emergency response plan at least every five years; and a few other conditions.

The full content of all three meetings is available for replay on the Lee County’s YouTube channel.

Hexagon Energy’s petition and the ZBA’s recommendation will be on the Lee County Board’s March meeting agenda. County Board members will vote whether to approve or deny the special use permit request.

The Lee County Board meets at 6 p.m. March 21 in the third-floor board room of the Old Lee County Courthouse, located at 112 E. Second St., Dixon. Interested parties also can attend via Zoom.