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To members of the Lee County Board:
This letter is in response to the article in the Sauk Valley Weekend regarding the approval of an application for a solar farm on Kilgore Road in Lee County. As someone who lives within a half mile of the proposed project, I have strong objections for the following reasons:
- Subsidies being paid to property owners to incentivize these projects are a transfer of wealth from taxpayers to the property owner and an indirect tax; fully 30% of our current electric bill goes to green energy subsidies.
- The property report that is being relied on to justify a lack of effect on surrounding property values is commissioned by the solar energy company and the report developer is the only one used by the company for this purpose. How is that a fair and unbiased assessment of the possible effect on property values of this solar farm? The County Board has no comparative data with which to challenge the findings and judge whether the possible changes in assessed valuation are accurate or not.
- This project sits directly adjacent to a subdivision of 21 homes, a clearly residential, not agricultural, area as reported by the paper.
- A bill was passed in Illinois in 2023 that took away zoning discretion from counties. Now companies simply have to meet criteria set by the state.
- Solar farm technology is relatively new. There is conflicting data on their possible effects on surrounding residents. Concerns include the heat they radiate, fire and the possibility of leaking chemicals from panels damaged by storms, among others.
I would hope our elected officials strongly consider taking a stance against this significant takeover of power and risk a lawsuit.
Sarah A. Willey
Dixon