Oswego trustees as a committee of the whole Tuesday will review a proposal for a solar farm on the west side of Route 71 in unincorporated Kendall County.
Turning Point Energy is proposing to develop a community solar farm on approximately 39 acres of farmland it would lease on the 6800 block of Route 71. The property is on the western edge of Oswego’s planning boundaries, village planners said in a report to trustees.
“While staff has been approached with solar farm projects in Oswego’s planning area in the past, previous proposals were in key development areas,” Oswego Village Planner Rachel Riemenschneider said in the report. “This is the first proposal that is on the outskirts of town that is unlikely to develop in the near future.”
More Top Picks Best High Contrast Playing Cards For Low Vision
Staff is generally supportive of solar farms, she said.
“Though solar farms can provide a benefit by generating green energy into the grid, the solar farm in of itself can create drawbacks,” Riemenschneider said.
The proposal would not contribute to the “improvement of the roadway network” or generate any substantial property tax revenues, she said. In addition, projects of this kind require overhead power lines to transmit energy to the grid, Riemenschneider said.
The location could make it difficult for surrounding land to develop as it would not provide utility extension to neighboring properties, the village planner said.
“When development occurs, the village requires that development extend and stub utility connections to the neighboring properties to assist in their future development. A solar farm does not require utilities and therefore they are not extended to the neighboring site creating an area around the solar farm that ends up being too costly to development,” Riemenschneider said.
Turning Point Energy is proposing to lease the property from the owner for an initial 25 years with three potential five-year extensions.
The developer would have to submit an application for annexation and rezoning for the proposed use. The proposal would go before the village’s Planning and Zoning Commission for review and back to the Village Board for consideration.
The village’s Comprehensive Plan identifies the proposed site as eyed for a combination of residential uses and open space, the village planner said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.