A massive solar farm project on the Morgan County line is drawing ire in a neighboring county.
WMAY reports that the Sangamon County Board has approved a major solar farm project next to the Morgan County line, despite objections that the project will take thousands of acres of productive farmland out of service.
Double Black Diamond Solar Power LLC says the 592 megawatt solar farm is slated for completion in late 2023, and is estimated to generate more than $2 million in tax revenue per year over the life of the project. Power generated from the project is estimated to power 85,000 homes in the state. The project is being underwritten by Swift Current Energy, who has offices located in Springfield. Swift was responsible for a large scale wind project in Logan County, as well as a similar sized solar project in Christian County. A third Illinois project is mentioned on Swift’s website, but a location to that project entitled Triple Black Diamond has not been revealed.
According to WMAY, critics say the 4,100 acres of land will be turned into an industrial site, and say the county’s zoning ordinance did not envision such a massive project. Sangamon County’s zoning board approved the project and according to the report, said the zoning ordinances were purposely left ambiguous to allow for future, larger scale projects.