Oswego village trustees want more answers on proposed solar farm

Oswego village trustees want Turning Point Energy to provide more details on its plans to build a community solar farm near the village, including what kind of screening it will provide to shield future residents.

During their March 18 Committee of the Whole meeting, trustees directed Turning Point Energy representative Rory Walker to come back with more detailed plans. Turning Point Energy proposes to build a community solar farm on 39 acres at 6908 B Route 71 in unincorporated Kendall County.

The property currently is being farmed and while it is unincorporated, it is within the village’s planning boundary. In response to a question from Village Trustee Andrew Torres, Walker said the company will do a glare study to ensure the project doesn’t adversely impact nearby houses or roads.

Torres also asked if the company would provide screening.

“If the village has screening that they would like us to adhere to, we’re quite flexible,” Walker said. “All of the sites that Turning Point develops have screening on them.”

Oswego Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said if the village is interested in annexing the land, staff could come up with recommendations on how to screen the property.

Village Trustee Kit Kuhrt said he would like to see a plan “where it’s completely hidden.”

The village would not be able to annex the land until it was contiguous to it.

Oswego Village Trustee Tom Guist voiced concerns that putting a solar farm on the land could impact the development of surrounding land.

“If a future developer was looking across Route 71 from this, I’m not sure that draws a developer’s interest that their subdivision is across from a solar farm,” he said. “I guess I don’t know. Maybe it has no impact at all. But I don’t think it makes it more desirable.”

It is still up in the air whether the Village Board will annex the land for the project. Annexing the land would require a supermajority, and several trustees voiced concerns about the project.

As a government body, the Kendall County Board cannot impose regulations on solar farms that are more restrictive than the state regulations. As a home rule community, Oswego would be able to place more requirements on the proposed development if the property were to annex to the village.

“We have a measure of control if we approve it,” Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman said. “And we lose any measure of control if we do not.”

Turning Point Energy proposes to lease the property for an initial lease term of 25 years along with three five-year extensions, for a total of 40 years.

The village’s 2015 Comprehensive Plan designates the property as partially residential and partially open space, Oswego Development Services Director Rod Zenner told village trustees.

“Do we not expect this to develop in the next 25 to 40 years?” asked Oswego Village Trustee Karin McCarthy-Lange. “I mean, there is residential around that area.”

In response, Zenner said there aren’t many utilities in the area and as such, is not expected to grow as much as other areas. The property is located on the western edge of the village’s planning boundary.

McCarthy-Lange said she would not be in favor of a solar field locating on the land.

“But it’s private land,” she noted.

Kauffman also noted that it would be up to owner to decide what to do with the land.

“I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other, but it seems like if it is his land, why would we say no?” Kauffman said. “If it was going to be developed in 10 or 15 years, that would be a very different story. But since it is so far out, it seems like that is a moot point.”

Village Trustee Jennifer Jones Sinnott said down the road, the village might want to see the property developed. She would prefer houses on the land.

“This property is in a great area, between Route 71 and the river and the park and other things from a development standpoint,” she said. “I know we’re looking down the road, but it would be a beautiful area for homes.”

According to Turning Point’s website, a community solar farm enables businesses and residents with unsuitable or insufficient space for on-site solar to realize the value of clean energy consumption.

A community solar farm produces electricity and the electricity produced becomes net metering credits. Individuals, municipalities and businesses can then sign up to receive a share of the net metering credits.

Net metering credits from the electricity produced by the community solar farm are applied to each customer’s monthly electric bill.