A proposed solar project along the Catlin-Tilton Road saw over 150 people turnout for an informational meeting Monday night. Earthrise Energy hosted the meeting at the Catlin Banquet Center. Project Manager Ellie Ginis says the solar farm would augment the Tilton Energy Center.
Audio Player“We leverage the existing transmission infrastructure at this natural gas-peaker plant to connect solar project to the electricity grid. And so we are proposing the development of a solar project in the Tilton area to connect back to the Tilton Energy Center.”}
After being told Tilton Solar would generate enough renewable electricity to power more than 30,000 homes, some citizens wondered where the power would go.
“We can’t guarantee where exactly the electricity will go,” said Ginis (shown in photo). “It’ll connect back to the substation at the Tilton Energy Center, and it’ll likely stay local in the grid in Illinois. Electrons really cannot travel that far so the power will generally stay and powers the homes nearby. But we can’t say exactly where the electricity will go because it goes to the electricity grid in general.”}
Ted Hartke, one of the citizens who spoke at Earthrise Energy’s meeting in Catlin last night, questioned the amount of noise the project would create.
Audio Player“Tonight I asked them if they could hold their 39 dba or lower, meaning they have to keep inverters 800 feet away from houses,” said Hartke. “They side-stepped the question. They said ‘of course, we’re going to do a sound study and make sure it’s not the maximum legal limit.”
Hartke said its important that inverters for the solar farm are kept away from houses so noise does not keep people from getting a good night’s sleep. Ginis says Earthrise Energy has leased more land than necessary adding that should provide sufficient land for setbacks and any environmental issues. Ginis says if all goes as planned, the company hopes to start construction next summer….
“The construction period is about 18 months. It’ll create hundreds of local union jobs during the process of construction, and then a few local long-term jobs for vegetation maintenance and then the operation of the project.” Ginis added they hope to have the project operational by the end of 2027.
Earthrise Energy says it is estimated Tilton Solar would generate $30-million dollars in total tax revenue over the estimated 30-year life of the project. The company says that amount is 13 times higher than if the parcels stayed in agricultural use. But several attending the meeting voiced opposition to taking prime agricultural land out of production to install solar panels.
The project would have to be approved by the Villages of Catlin and Tilton.