First hearing on 1,200-megawatt solar facility complete, second set for Feb. 28

DIXON – More than two hours of testimony from the developers of what could be Illinois’ largest solar facility were heard Feb. 20 during the first of three hearings before the Lee County Zoning Board of Appeals.

Hexagon Energy LLC, a Virginia-based company doing business in Illinois as Steward Creek Solar LLC, is seeking a special use permit from Lee County to build Phase 2 of a 1,200-megawatt commercial solar energy facility in Alto and Willow Creek townships.

“Over the 35-year project life we have these agreements for, [phases 1 and 2 ] are estimated to bring in about $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 about 9,000 acres, according to Hexagon Energy’s special use permit application.

The project 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.

Sterling-based attorney Tim Zollinger facilitated the public hearing portion of the ZBA meeting; he also will facilitate Wednesday’s meeting. 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. 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 factors, as laid out in Lee County Ordinance 2023-05-003, are:

• “The establishment, maintenance or operation of the Commercial Solar Energy Facility will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare.
• “The Commercial Solar Energy Facility will not be injurious to the uses and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purposes already permitted, nor substantially diminish and impair property values of surrounding properties.
• “The establishment of the Commercial Solar Energy Facility will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of the surrounding properties.
• “Adequate public utilities, access roads, drainage and/or necessary facilities have or will be provided.
• “Adequate measures have been or will be taken to provide ingress and egress so designed as to minimize traffic congestion in the public streets.
• “The proposed Commercial Solar Energy Facility is not contrary to the objectives of the current comprehensive plan of the County [if any].
• “The Commercial Solar Energy Facility shall, in all other respects, conform to the applicable regulations of this Ordinance and the zoning district in which it is located [if a zoning ordinance is in effect], except as such regulations may, in each instance, be modified pursuant to the recommendations of and approved by the County Board.”

“Steward Creek is a large project, and one of the largest definitely in the state [and] it’ll be among the largest in the country,” said Scott Remer, Hexagon Energy senior director of development. “So it’s a big one.”

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association’s website, the largest solar farm in Illinois is Double Black Diamond, which is under construction but expected to come on-line this year. It’s located 30 miles west of Springfield and will produce 593 megawatts, enough to power more than 100,000 homes.

Steward Creek’s second phase alone will create enough clean energy to power approximately 116,300 homes, Hexagon’s permit application states.

The project has about $1.5 billion worth of investment, which is why Hexagon Energy is working to secure outside investors, Remer said.

“We’re not going to finance that on our own,” he said. “We’ll need outside investors. They’re very interested, very eager based on what we’re seeing from PJM, and so we’re trying to get all those pieces in place.”

PJM is a “neutral, regulated organization that directs the operation of power lines and generators for many different owners” ensuring fair access to the flow of electricity for competing suppliers and users, according to learn.PJM.com.

On Nov. 19, 2020, Lee County Board members granted Hexagon Energy a special use permit for Phase 1.

However, construction on Phase 1 has not yet started. The reason is because PJM has not signed off on an interconnection agreement for either of Steward Creek’s phases, Remer said.

Projects can’t be built in Lee County without first acquiring an interconnection agreement with PJM, County Zoning Administrator Alice Henkel said previously.

A decade ago, developers could go to PJM, present their project, pay a deposit and get an interconnection agreement in a year or two, Remer said. As solar became more affordable and desirable, more and more applications started coming in, he said.

The number of applications for nonviable projects “stopped up the queue” and eventually caused PJM to pause its processing of applications, Remer explained. That was a few years ago, and since then, PJM decided to process grid applications in three batches, he said.

Phase 1 of Steward Creek is part of the first batch, processing of which began in 2023, Remer said. Phase 2 is part of the second batch, and processing of that should start this year.

“They have a plan in place and we’re all anxiously holding our breath to finally get those results, get the interconnection agreement and to move forward,” he said.

Hexagon Energy plans to start construction of phases 1 and 2 simultaneously, which will be more efficient, Hantzmon said. Each phase will take between 20 to 24 months to complete, he said, but with the overlap, the total construction time should be around 32 months.

Various factors – especially the weather – will impact the total construction time, Hantzmon said.

Safety at Steward Creek

Hexagon reached out to local fire protection districts and departments during the Phase 1 application process, Hantzmon said. They plan to reconnect prior to starting construction or applying for building permits, he said.

“We will coordinate with the local fire protection districts to do a site walk and make any modifications that they deem necessary,” Hantzmon said

Additionally, Hexagon Energy will pay for emergency responders to receive annual training on how to handle a situation at Steward Creek, he said.

Decommissioning Steward Creek

The Lee County Solar Energy Systems ordinance requires a decommissioning plan and financial assurance from an applicant sufficient to pay decommissioning costs. The plan and financial assurances must be regularly updated, the ordinance states.

According to Hexagon Energy’s decommissioning plan, which was put together by a third-party engineer, “If the project ceases to perform its intended function for more than 12 consecutive months, the project shall be removed, and the site restored in accordance with the Decommissioning Plan.”

Project components subject to decommission include the solar panels, transformers, converters, combiner boxes, cables, earthwork, roads, fencing and landscaping and screening, according to the plan.

Other things to know about …

The solar panels

• The panels will be photovoltaic – PV for short – panels with an antireflective coating to minimize glare, enhance absorption and increase their productivity.
• They will be mounted on a single axis tracking system with a north-south orientation that tracks the sun east to west.
• The panels’ maximum height will be 15 feet, which is below the 20-foot limit set by Lee County.

Facility security

• Steward Creek would have on-site monitoring equipment, but primarily would be monitored remotely. If any issues arise, local contractors would be hired to check it out.
• There will be fencing at least 6 feet tall around the facility.

Noise

• A sound study done by Kimbly-Horn & Associates Inc., dated Jan. 8, found that sound levels at surrounding residences aren’t expected to exceed 52 A-weighted decibels, which is roughly the equivalent of the sound a refrigerator makes.
• The noise produced is below what Illinois Pollution Control Board’s octave band limits, and as such, noise mitigation was found to be unnecessary.

ZBA members did not take action during the Feb. 20 meeting. The public hearing for Steward Creek was continued to 6 p.m. Feb. 28. The ZBA meets in the third-floor board room of the Old Lee County Courthouse, located at 112 E. Second St., Dixon. Interested parties also can attend the meetings via Zoom.