Adams County Board votes to allow solar farm near Ursa “under protest”

QUINCY — Adams County State’s Attorney Todd Eyler got his point across without directly telling Adams County Board members that a vote against the Ursa Creek Solar project was a futile gesture.

“We are required to follow the state statute,” Eyler said before the board voted 11-8 to approve the project, a four-megawatt farm covering 27 acres with about 10,000 solar panels just north of Ursa on Ill. 61. Once it is up and running, it is expected to generate about 9.5 million kilowatt-hours of power, which would power about 1,000 homes.

According to state law, as long as a project meets state requirements, counties without zoning must issue the permits to allow the construction. Previous county boards have resisted touching the third rail of zoning, which many Adams County residents outside of Quincy and its mile-and-a-half buffer have strongly opposed for generations.

Eyler said he had been informed by County Engineer Jim Frankenhoff that other Illinois counties had tried and failed to buck the process.

“They (other counties) voted “no” one month and then turned around and voted “yes” the next month,” Eyler said. “There are fairly obvious consequences (when attempting to deny the projects).”

Greenkey Solar, LLC out of Portland is the parent company to Ursa Creek Solar, LLC, which has provided documentation to county officials confirming they have met all state requirements for wind and solar facilities across the state. Illinois passed the Wind and Solar Facility Resident Protection Act in 2023 and ties the hands of county officials regarding such projects unless zoning requirements are in place.

Five Ursa residents spoke in opposition to the project. The County Board held a public hearing on the issue on April 24 and many of them had stated their objections there as well.

“When are we going to stand up to the liberals and Pritzker?” Clinton Stiefel asked.

“We want cattle and crops on our land, not metal panels and towers,” Rodell Meyer said.

Desiree Noisette of Greenkey said the company wants “to be good stewards” of the land and a 12-foot black fence and two rows of evergreens will buffer the panels from residents living near them. The panels must be at least 150 feet from any neighboring homes.

Noisette said solar farm will connect to the Ameren Illinois power grid with an construction timeline of up to nine months, starting in July.

With one member, Barb Fletcher (R-District 2), absent and one seat vacant following the retirement of Les Post (R-District 6), that left 19 county board members to vote. Of those 11 who voted yes, many of them said their votes were “under protest.”

But that left eight members who still opposed the measure, despite the potential ramifications. Steve McQueen (R-District 4) said “I’m pro-solar, but I’m anti-government overreach.”

Voting for the special use permit were Bret Austin, (R-District 1); Tim Siemer, (R-District 1); Ryan Hinkamper, (R-District 2); Dave Bellis, (R-District 3); Travis Cooley, (R-District 4); Robert Reich, (R-District 5); Brad Poulter, (R-District 6); David McCleary, (R-District 6); Russell Hinkamper, (R-District 7); Brent Fischer, (R-District 7); and Joe Zanger, (R-District 7).

Opposing the permit were Keith Callaway, (R-District 1); Mark Sorensen, (R-District 2); Marvin Kerkhoff, (R-District 3); Mark Dietrich, (R-District 3); McQueen, Jeremy Farlow, (R-District 4); Jon McCoy, (R-District 5); and Tim Finlay, (R-District 5).

Adams County Board Chairman Bret Austin said there are other solar farms projects on the horizon, including one just off Ghost Hollow Road that will go before the board in July. There will be a public hearing on that project on June 16.

Near the end of the meeting, the board confirmed the selection of John Gunther of Camp Point to fill the District 6 vacancy. Austin said Gunther was seated after the solar farm vote because he didn’t believe it was fair to Gunther to have to cast such a tough vote with no time to prepare.

Gunther is a retired district conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture who owns farmland near Camp Point.