As Earthrise forges ahead with preparations to submit a special use permit to Will County for its 5,400-acre, 600 MW solar project, Manhattan Township officials invited the solar company to attend their monthly township meeting in an effort to glean more information about the massive development.
At the November 11 meeting, about 25 residents and the township board heard a brief presentation by Earthrise’s Director of Development Rob Kalbouss, who then answered questions from the board and residents.
Earthrise officials previously advised township officials at last month’s open house they would only need to present to those with discretionary entitlement, which would not include the township board. It would, however, include Manhattan Township Road Commissioner Jim “J.B.” Baltas, as township roads would be affected.
The Manhattan Township Board seemed to hope Kalbouss would’ve come to the meeting with more information than what was available at the open house, with several board members and Township Supervisor Jimmy Walsh requesting a more detailed map or site plan. They questioned why information wasn’t made available to them sooner.
“We need to know what’s going on,” Trustee Paul Woodcock said.
“I’m here now,” Kalbouss responded, noting the company is following everything according to the direction of the permitting authority, which is Will County.
Trustee Bill McGrath asked whether Earthrise would consider requirements that the township requests of solar developers, which recently were formalized in a resolution passed by the township at the end of September.
“We want to have a dialogue and talk to you about what are your specific priorities, what are your development standards, where can we find some alignment between the two things — we’re absolutely open to a dialogue on that,” Kalbouss said, adding Earthrise has high standards, too.
For example, the township requested underground transmission lines, which was what Kalbouss said they preferred, unless something prevents underground boring, such as a pipeline.
Kalbouss estimated about 35 percent of the project would be in Manhattan Township, and said the layout should be pared down after the special use permit is approved after Clerk Kelly Baltas asked if they would see more property.
“Our plan is to break ground next summer, and that will take about 18-to-24 months to complete,” Kalbouss said in response to Walsh questioning the timeline.
More detailed information would be available once they submitted the application package to the county, Kalbouss said. It was unclear why it wouldn’t be released to the township sooner, other than they didn’t have discretionary entitlement.
He did come prepared with printouts of the map previously available at the open house. The availability of project maps was a criticism many, who attended the open house, levied against the developer. However, those maps were vague, only identifying parcels and didn’t indicate exactly where solar panels, transmission lines, or berms would go.
The public had a barrage of questions for the developer, and at least half of those in attendance gave comments or asked questions. Several residents expressed concern about the materials used to erect the solar panels in the ground and how they could leach into groundwater and wells.
Environmental concerns, such as heat from the panels, were raised during questioning. Kalbouss said many of those concerns stemmed from older models of solar panels and different technology that Earthrise doesn’t use.
For example, Kalbouss affirmed their panels do not use cadmium, an older material that did leach into groundwater; instead, Earthrise’s products are made from glass, steel, and aluminum.
Aesthetically, neighbors were worried about having to look at the panels, expressing dismay at the disruption to the landscape.
“What does this do to the value of our land? This stuff is uglier than hell,” resident Dave Osborne said, who will have the project surrounding his property.
Kalbouss said they try to minimize the amount of land disturbed, avoid wetlands, and he would be happy to talk to any adjacent property owners about adding to the buffers they already planned to install to make it more pleasing.
Kalbouss also affirmed there would be no battery storage in the project.
Resident Garrett Fleck questioned what would happen to damaged field tiles on his property and whether his home across the street would be subject to glare.
“Absolutely, there is an impact to adjoining properties, we’re on the hook for that, and there will be a policy outlined in our application as to how we handle that,” Kalbouss said about the field tiles, noting they will map out tiles so they can avoid them, but will repair or replace any that are damaged.
While Kalbouss affirmed any damaged field tiles would be repaired, the possibility of glare couldn’t be entirely eliminated.
“The only glare that was modeled in that study was very low intensity, and low duration and only at real specific receptors,” Kalbouss said.
“So I have to deal with glare at certain times of the day?” Fleck pressed.
“Not necessarily, it depends on where your property is located,” Kalbouss said, with Fleck stating he was directly across the street.
“There might be some times of the day where you might catch some reflection from the panel,” Kalbouss said.
This prompted Fleck to inquire about berms and trees, to which Kalbouss said their landscaping plan covers, and said he’d be happy to talk to Fleck about adding to it.
Other concerns stemmed from nearby data center proposals and from whether Earthrise intended to enter that market.
Kalbouss said Earthrise previously looked into data centers, but “right now, it’s not a priority for the company” — the “right now” qualifier eliciting several groans from those in attendance.
With further questioning, like Nicole Bisping’s inquiry of what the solar is intended to support, Kalbouss explained the Illinois Power Authority contracted part of the power, which would purchase the power, repackage it, and sell it to Illinois utilities; the other part is marketed to commercial and industrial buyers.
Data centers could potentially purchase the power, but it would be like any other customer on the PJM system and wouldn’t need to be near the project, Kalbouss noted.
Kalbouss explained Vision Ridge Partners is a private equity firm that owns Earthrise; there’s no government money involved. Once the facility is in production, they would receive tax credits like any other business, Kalbouss said in response to questions by resident Tim Shanahan.
Several asked questions about what happens if severe weather damages the development. Kalbouss replied it would be fixed. He didn’t want to speculate on how and what could be done because it was a hypothetical situation, but did say they are incentivized to clean it up and repair any damage as quickly as possible.
Kalbouss also added Earthrise has been working closely with the fire district for the past eight months to ensure their needs are met so they could access any fires should they occur.
Decommissioning also was questioned, and Kalbouss said there would be a bond with the county to pay for decommissioning for any reason, whether it’s the end of the project’s life or the technology becomes obsolete, or anything else.
As for community benefits, Kalbouss said the project would help offset energy costs, would contribute $3 million in taxes in the first year, and create 600 jobs during construction, with three-to-four permanent jobs once construction is complete.
When concerns were expressed about road usage and workers entering fields with telehandlers without permits, Jim “J.B.” Baltas said he stopped one company from Georgia “pounding in I-beams.” He advised them they needed a permit, but they never returned.
“That will be handled,” Baltas said and assuaged resident concerns, noting they would be required to provide road bonds, and there may be a road use agreement required.
“When you make the board happy, you and I will get together,” Road Commissioner Baltas said to Kalbouss, who responded he was looking forward to it.
Clerk Baltas explained the process to residents and hoped, once Earthrise had a site plan and everything available, they would return to the township so residents and the board could learn more and know what their recommendation would be to the county.
She explained the board is there to listen to residents; the resolution was only so they had something to provide to the county, as there were few restrictions. Other counties had much more stringent requirements.
The county’s land use board would review the project at a public hearing and make a recommendation to the county board. The county board would make the final decision regarding the project. Baltas encouraged residents to attend those meetings and said they would do their best to let the public know about them.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.