Maples Road Solar farm receives approval from Lee County Board

DIXON – The Lee County Board on Thursday approved a 35-acre solar farm to be built east of Dixon.

Maples Road Solar LLC, under parent company New Leaf Energy, petitioned Lee County for a special use permit to develop a five-megawatt community solar farm that focuses on recruiting subscribers for discounted energy.

The project would generate electricity to power more than 800 homes and bring in about $31,000 in property tax revenue for the county in the first year, project developer Tom Ryan said.

The company has a 20-year lease agreement with landowner Mike Pratt, who’s a member of the Zoning Board and recused himself from the proceedings.

The 35 acres is part of an almost 300-acre parcel at Maples and Stony Point roads, east of the Dixon Municipal Airport.

[ Maples Road Solar farm proposed east of Dixon ]

The Zoning Board approved recommending the project after gathering testimony and evidence and compiling a list of about 100 findings across three meetings in the hearing process this month.

There were concerns about the project not meeting the county’s solar ordinance when it comes to offering screening for neighboring, nonparticipating landowners.

Company representatives argued that the project parcel footprint is mostly surrounded by farmland, and the neighbors are too far from the project area to be considered “adjacent.”

Neighbors and a nearby subdivision range from 950 to 2,200 feet away.

The county requires visual screenings such as trees or bushes to create a buffer for surrounding landowners. Adjacent landowners would have the option of visual screening or a one-time payment equal to what the landscaping and maintenance would cost.

The Zoning Board placed conditions requiring that all neighbors be given the screening or payment option, but it was removed prior to the County Board vote after consulting with the Lee County state’s attorney and determining that the condition was drawing a legal conclusion, said Alice Henkel, the county’s renewable energy coordinator.

The project was approved in a 11-4-1 vote with board members Angie Shippert, Keane Hudson, Michael Pearson and Chris Robertson providing the dissenting votes. Board Chairman Bob Olson abstained from the vote.

Construction would start in about a year and take four to six months to complete, and the company plans to sell the solar farm after it is constructed, Ryan said.

It would create 30 to 40 temporary construction jobs and two or three longterm jobs to maintain the site.