Developers present two 5‑MW community solar projects; board hears environmental, drainage and local‑jobs concerns

The Tazewell County Zoning Board of Appeals on the April agenda heard a presentation and public comment on two proposed community solar projects — Cincinnati CSG 1 and Cincinnati CSG 2 — each a 5‑megawatt array planned on the same approximately 157‑acre property south of BFW Road near Pekin. Dimension Energy said it intends to build both projects as co‑located but legally separate installations and to participate in the state community solar program if eligible.

The projects, presented by Paul Irby, project development manager for Dimension Energy, would occupy about 27 acres each and use single‑axis tracking panels, underground medium‑voltage wiring inside the fenced arrays, and a shared access road from Veterans Drive. “We’re planning to build these projects as soon as we can,” Irby said, adding the company has signed an interconnection agreement and paid its deposit to Ameren for one site and is completing the study for the second.

Staff and the project’s consultant, Rebecca Colson of GEI, summarized studies submitted with the application. The county planner reported no setbacks or zoning‑compliance issues found in staff review and said the site lies within 1.5 miles of Pekin and is shown as industrial in Pekin’s future land use map. GEI reported no recognized environmental conditions in a Phase I site assessment, no wetlands in the project footprint, no expected impacts to…