Will County solar boom not entirely welcomed

The Will County Board this week approved five new solar farms, but not everyone is happy with the alternative energy boom in rural areas of the county.

The votes on the projects were divided, with several Republican County Board members objecting to a new state law that they said forces them to approve solar facilities whether they want to or not.

The solar facilities approved are in unincorporated areas of Joliet, Crete and Peotone townships.

Two Peotone Township residents objected to a facility that will be built close to their homes, even objecting to the term “solar farm” for an operation that they noted takes farm land out of production.

“I don’t care how beautiful you think they are or how many fences you put up, they are not pretty,” Kathleen Tovey told the board at its meeting Thursday. “Please keep these in commercial areas.”

County officials, however, cited a state law that went into effect June 9 that sets broad conditions for solar locations and renders them powerless to decide whether a particular location is suitable.

“We have lost that right due to the shameful act of legislators who were lobbied heavily by the solar industry,” said County Board Chairman Judy Ogalla, R-Monee.

The Peotone Township site along Kennedy Road and west of South Center Road is not heavily populated. But Ogalla said there are more than 30 residents live in the vicinity.

One of those residents, Virginia Hamann, urged the board to test the state’s authority.

“I urge you all to set a precedent in Illinois and vote against this site,” Hamann said.

One board member said it was worth a try.

“I guarantee we’ll win because the public outcry will be so loud,” said member Steve Balich, R-Orland Park.

However, the Peotone Township facility was the only one that drew any objections from residents, and development of solar power has many supporters in the county.

The county has approved 28 applications for solar facilities. Twelve of those have expired without facilities being built, but the number of approvals shows that the county has been generally receptive to solar power operations.

County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant pointed to the county’s receptiveness to green energy during a State of the County address delivered to the board at the same meeting the solar facilities were approved.

“Last year, we became the first county in Illinois to allow for battery-energy storage facilities in unincorporated areas,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “A simple change to our ordinances was able to make our county nationally competitive in a growing industry.”

The Peotone Township solar facility did not include battery-energy storage systems, but two others did.

The other approved solar facilities are located at the northwest corner of Cherry Hill and West Schweitzer roads in Joliet Township, the southwest corner of Route 52 and Cherry Hill Road in Joliet Township, East Goodenow and Dutton roads in Crete Township, and the northwest corner of West Munz Road and Cottage Grove Avenue in Crete Township.