Nexamp pitches annexation and four community solar arrays at T & S Trailer Pool site

Matt Walsh, vice president of business development at Nexamp, and land‑use attorney Nick Standiford presented a proposed annexation and a plan to build four 5‑megawatt community solar arrays on land owned by T & S Trailer Pool.

The presenters told the University Park Board that the arrays would occupy about 110 acres within a larger 300‑acre assemblage and that developers plan to petition to annex the portion in unincorporated Will County into the village. Standiford said the board would not vote on annexation that night but that special‑use permit applications have been submitted and will go to the village planning commission for review.

Nexamp described its community‑solar model as a subscription program: residents and institutions subscribe and receive discounted credits applied to their ComEd bills. Walsh said subscribers typically see about 15% savings and that the company assigns subscribers to panels on the array and places production credits on customers’ utility bills. “It yields a 15% savings for the customer,” Walsh said.

The team presented a site plan showing each array roughly 16–22 acres in size and described equipment pads (transformer/inverter locations), perimeter fencing, and 24/7 site cameras. Walsh said the arrays would be installed on driven steel piles, use slowly tracking panels, and be designed for removal at the end of a 30–40 year operating life. Standiford said an agricultural‑impact‑mitigation agreement submitted to the Illinois Department of Agriculture will require a removal bond so the village can restore the land if the developer violates the agreement.

On tax impacts, Walsh told the board the 110 acres currently generate about $5,500 a year in property taxes; he said taxes would increase to roughly $240,000 in year one after development and to about $6.5 million in aggregate over 40 years, with a large share flowing to the Crete‑Monee school district and University Park.

Residents and trustees asked about environmental and health effects, wildlife and decommissioning. Walsh said the panels are tempered glass and silicon and contain no liquids, that the company completed endangered‑species reviews with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and offered to supply studies, and that panels and metal components would be recycled at decommissioning. “There’s no contaminants that’ll be in the soil afterwards or even during the operation of the system,” Walsh said.

Trustees also asked about noise from equipment pads; Walsh said the central inverters produce noise comparable to a household refrigerator and that the project’s central siting and setbacks make the equipment inaudible at property boundaries. The developers listed measured setbacks from adjacent features (for example, about 790 feet from University Parkway and roughly 1,200 feet from nearby residences in some locations) and said most cables would be buried, with only a few private poles needed for ComEd protective equipment.

A resident questioned why Nexamp is proposing multiple adjacent 5‑MW projects rather than one larger array; Nexamp said Illinois net‑metering rules limit a community‑solar project to 5 MW, so developers commonly site multiple 5‑MW arrays side‑by‑side to meet capacity goals while remaining within that regulatory cap.

Walsh estimated the four arrays would produce enough electricity to serve about 4,000 homes and said Nexamp aims to prioritize subscriptions for village residents but explained that ComEd’s rules allow subscribing customers anywhere within its service territory.

The board and staff confirmed the special‑use applications will be heard by the village planning commission next week; annexation and any zoning actions would come back before the board later. Nexamp said it will provide supplemental studies and materials to staff and the planning commission.