From green to sheen: Yorkville City Council approves another solar farm

Another 23-acres of farmland in Yorkville are following the area’s recent trend of transitioning from crop yields to solar fields.

The new solar array will be within a current 73.5-acre agricultural farm near the southwest corner of Galena Road and Route 47, owned by Daniel and Charene Nagal. Construction is expected to begin in 2025, by solar developers Nexamp.

Once completed, the solar array will produce 5-megawatts of energy.

The go ahead from the Yorkville City Council last month follows the approvals for three other solar farms in recent months. Many of these planned developments involved annexing unincorporated farmland before rezoning for solar arrays.

The Nexamp solar farm array required the passage of a rezoning request, special use, and a variance to allow the solar panels to be located 50 feet from the neighboring property, rather than the 100 feet setback currently required by city code.

All three measures passed, with Aldermen Chris Funkhouser and Seaver Tarulis voting against.

The developers plan to construct an 8-foot tall galvanized, chain-link fence along the 4,600-foot perimeter of the solar farm, according to city documents. The fence would contain a 20-foot wide vehicle access gate.

The solar panels would face east, rotating west, enabling maximum sunlight. A city ordinance requires the location of the panels to eliminate glare that could be directed into nearby properties or roadways. The developer’s submitted glare study found the current plan contains no potential for glare onto surrounding properties.