Nexamp outlines community solar plan for University Park parcel and seeks annexation

Nexamp representatives presented a proposal to host four community solar arrays near University Park and asked the village to annex one yellow parcel currently under county jurisdiction so an array can be sited there. Matt Walsh, Nexamp’s presenter, told trustees the company is a vertically integrated community-solar developer that builds, owns and maintains projects and that the company has secured U.S.-produced solar modules and lines of supply.

Nexamp described community solar as shared solar that allows subscribers who cannot put panels on their roofs to receive bill credits. “Say your solar panels that you were assigned produced a $100 worth of energy. You get a $100 discount on your COMED bill. We would charge you $85 for that $100 credit. So, effectively, you’d be saving $15,” Walsh said, using the company’s typical 85%-of-credit arrangement as an example of how subscribers save about 15% compared with on-bill credits.

The presentation included site design details: Walsh said equipment pads would be centrally located, panels would sit on driven steel racking (no concrete foundations), and ground-cover plantings would include pollinator-friendly species. He said Nexamp was able to keep the nearest proposed panel more than 200 feet from the closest residence — citing the company’s effort to exceed Will County’s 150-foot separation standard — and reviewed completed studies, including surveys, utility studies, a wetlands delineation reviewed by the Army Corps of Engineers and a state historic-preservation sign-off. Walsh also said Nexamp is coordinating geotechnical work and pipeline easement approvals with BP, which has infrastructure crossing the site.

Marian Jones, Nexamp’s vice president for workforce development and DEI, described the company’s local hiring commitments and training partnerships. Jones said Nexamp seeks to recruit residents from host ZIP codes into apprenticeship and fellowship programs and cited a STEM-based renewable-energy fellowship Nexamp launched with City Colleges of Chicago. “We partner with community-based training programs so that once those individuals graduate, we want them to come into our pipeline,” Jones said.

Walsh also discussed decommissioning and fiscal benefits. Nexamp said the project would be temporary to the farmland lease and that the company signed an agreement with the Illinois Department of Agriculture to facilitate returning leased land to farming after the lease ends. Walsh said the 100-plus acres planned for the four arrays would generate far more property tax revenue over time than the land’s current agricultural yield: he described a scenario in which roughly $5,500 per year from current use compares with roughly $240,000 per year with the solar arrays, and said over 40 years that equates to roughly $400,000 now vs. about $6.5 million with solar (figures presented by Nexamp were company estimates).

Walsh flagged federal policy uncertainty as a scheduling risk for the industry but said this particular project is advanced enough that Nexamp did not expect it to be derailed. He said Nexamp would post a decommissioning bond with University Park to guarantee site removal at end of life and would work with village staff on operational conditions if the annexation proceeds.

The public-hearing portion of the meeting concluded after public questions about truck traffic, timeline and local outreach; Nexamp estimated about four to five deliveries daily during a three- to four-month construction period with only a handful of maintenance visits per year after completion. The board adjourned the public hearing without taking a final annexation vote and moved the matter into the standing meeting for further consideration and formal action on upcoming agenda items.

What’s next: Nexamp’s request to have the yellow parcel annexed into University Park remains pending. The company said it has completed several technical reviews and is coordinating remaining utility and easement approvals; the village did not take a final annexation vote during the meeting.