2 new solar farms approved in Shabbona

SYCAMORE – A company seeking to build two 2-megawatt solar gardens in Shabbona Township recently got the projects approved by the DeKalb County Board, but not everyone was on board.

In two subsequent 19-2 votes, the board approved two special-use permits requested by Shabbona-Fitzgerald Solar for the creation of two solar gardens on the north side of Preserve Road, about 1,500 feet east of University Road.

Jerry Osland, a Republican from District 12, and Benjamin Haier, a Democrat from District 5, voted against each of the ordinances.

Osland said there are several different reasons he wasn’t in favor of approving the permits necessary for the projects to continue, but his primary reason centered on nuclear power.

“They’re making these little, mini nuclear power plants,” Osland said. “And I really think that’s the direction we should go. Obviously the governor thinks so, and state representatives think so.”

This month, Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation that lifted a 36-year-old moratorium on new nuclear power plants. Small nuclear reactors that produce fewer than 300 megawatts of power – the kind Olsand spoke of – will be allowed to operate in the state starting in January 2026.

Osland said he thinks DeKalb County farmland shouldn’t be used for solar energy production when nuclear energy is expected to roll out in the near future.

“I really think that’s something we should consider, and not wasting this good farmland,” Osland said.

According to county documents, the county previously approved the projects in 2019, but the solar gardens were not selected to be a part of the Illinois Shines Program, the state’s solar energy initiative.

The request was brought forth again in 2022 because the projects were approved for the state program, and the builders needed renewed county approved.

Those special-use permits were granted in 2022 on the condition that building permits for the project would be sought within 18 months of the county’s approval. No building permits were submitted before the expiration date, however.

Since those requests, the state has restricted how and when a county can deny a special-use request for solar and wind farms.