Committee approves Little Prairie Solar special-use request and decommissioning plan

The Champaign County Environment and Land Use Committee on Monday approved a special-use permit request and an accompanying decommissioning and site reclamation plan for the Little Prairie Solar project, a utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar farm and battery energy storage system in Sidney Township.

Petitioners from BayWa Renewable Energy presented the project as a 135-megawatt utility-scale PV development with an accessory battery energy storage system and said the facility would sit on approximately 1,047 acres with a fenced solar area of roughly 768 acres. David Holly, the company—s lead point of contact for the Little Prairie project, said the project began in 2022 and that the team has worked with landowners, school districts and the Sydney Fire District while pursuing state and county approvals. "This is an opportunity for Champaign County, we believe, to further their investment into renewable energy in the county," Holly said.

John Crosby, a BayWa project manager, asked the committee to approve both the special-use permit and the project's decommissioning plan, and told the committee the project is designed to comply with the Champaign County zoning ordinance and Illinois Pollution Control Board sound regulations. "Our goal here tonight is to respectfully request approval for the Little Prairie solar site and the decommissioning plan," Crosby said.

Why it matters: supporters and the company said the project will add property tax revenue to local taxing districts and create construction jobs; petitioners also described landscaping and pollinator-seed plans they said exceed county requirements. Opponents and some committee members raised concerns about soil disturbance, drainage and contractor compliance with permit conditions.

Public comment was largely supportive. Cindy Shepherd, a resident, said she backed the project because of anticipated school funding and environmental benefits. "I support the project that's being proposed tonight," Shepherd said. Joyce Mast, another commenter, told the committee she favored solar farms for improved air quality: "Solar farms do much better for clean air than carbon-producing plants," she said.

Committee members questioned the petitioners about several technical and compliance topics. Member Aaron Esri raised concerns about two existing solar projects built by another developer that, he said, appeared to be operating without a county certificate of completion and incomplete fencing. "They're up and operating, but they don't have a certificate of completion from the county yet," Esri said, describing visible equipment and meters at the sites. The committee discussed whether the county's state's attorney should review those cases.

Several members pressed BayWa on grading, topsoil management and tile drainage. BayWa representatives said grading and topsoil handling follow the Illinois agricultural impact mitigation agreement and state siting criteria, and that any necessary roadway repairs from construction would be addressed through post-construction road-use agreements with local highway authorities. BayWa said it performed detailed drainage and drainage-infrastructure investigations and would reroute or repair tile as required. "If there is an impact to it, the project's obligated to repair that," Holly said.

County staff said the decommissioning cost estimate on file for the project was reviewed and is within the range of other solar farms the county has seen; staff said this project's estimated demolition and salvage costs are on the low end compared with prior projects. John Hall, speaking for county staff, noted the county could pursue enforcement under drainage law if surface flow were altered by grading: "They're not supposed to be changing the grade enough to change surface flow," Hall said, adding that the county could require a consultant review at the permit stage.

Votes at a glance: - Zoning case 144S24 (special use for Little Prairie Solar LLC) with requested waivers (roadway upgrade/maintenance agreement timing; locating the PV farm less than 1.5 miles from an incorporated municipality; a 225-foot inverter setback in lieu of 275 feet): approved by roll call. Vote recorded: Rogers yes; Steen yes; Barney yes; Lock yes; Rodriguez yes; Store yes; Esri no. Committee member Andy Stillo announced before the vote that he would abstain from tonight's vote. The committee chair recorded the motion as passed. - Decommissioning and site reclamation plan for 144S24: approved by committee voice vote.

What remains: petitioners said the project has additional regulatory and permitting steps ahead, including interconnection, the special-use permit and subsequent zoning-use-permit level engineering submittals. Petitioner materials identify Unity and Heritage school districts as overlapping taxing jurisdictions and estimate roughly $18 million in additional property-tax revenue to local taxing jurisdictions over 40 years compared with existing agricultural use; BayWa representatives said the projected commercial operation date would be 2029 if approvals proceed.

The committee meeting closed after the two approvals and brief additional administrative items.