THE FOLLOWING STORY IS BY BILL PICKETT
ABOVE: Catlin’s Mayor Justin Bargo (file photo).
Some citizens are urging the Catlin Village Board to use its mile-and-a-half zoning control authority to stop plans for a proposed 1400 acre solar farm along the Catlin-Tilton Road. But Catlin Mayor Justin Bargo says the village has nothing to vote on at this time…
AUDIO: We haven’t received any permits, or permit applications, from Earthrise about the solar farm. There’s been no communication with Earthrise for this project. They haven’t reached out to the village; the village has not reached out to them. There is no decision to be made, as we have no information to make a decision on.
Bargo is surprised that Earthrise Energy has not contacted the village…
AUDIO: You would think that they would want to be more engaged with the community and the people that are affected, and clearly have a strong opinion against it. You would think that a company would want to come in and show support for those individuals and try to rectify any issues that may be.
Some residents attending Tuesday evening’s Catlin Village Board meeting urged the board to enforce the mile-and-a-half zoning control to protect rich farmland. Mayor Bargo says first the Village of Catlin would need to take other action…
AUDIO: We currently don’t have a zoning code that would apply to solar. We’re still unsure of what that code even would be. But we do not have an industrial production zoning code that they could apply to have. So, we would have to create a new zoning code, and then apply that as a variance to that property within a mile-and-a-half, in order for that to even be approved by the Zoning Board.
Sunrise Energy earlier outlined its plans for the proposed 188 megawatt solar project in a meeting that was held in Catlin. But Mayor Bargo says the company has not officially approached the village…
AUDIO: There’s so much that would have to be done to even get this approved. And from what I’m seeing, from the community, most people are not in favor of it.
On Tuesday (August 19, 2025) the U. S. Department of Agriculture announced it is discontinuing funding of solar and wind projects. It is unknown whether that announcement might impact plans for the proposed solar farm along the Catlin-Tilton Road. Earthrise has said the project would generate $30-million dollars for the local economy over a thirty year period as payments are made to landowners who lease space for the solar panels. The company has also said the 188 megawatt solar project would generate enough clean, renewable energy to provide power to over 30-thousand homes.
Earthrise is proposing placing the solar panels on land along the north side of the Catlin-Tilton Road stretching from just west of Tilton to the east side of Catlin.
