McHenry County Zoning Board OKs 4.99‑MW McConnell Road solar farm with neighbor screening and local subscription condition

The McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals voted 7–0 to approve a conditional use permit for One Energy Renewables’ McConnell Road Solar Project, a 4.99‑megawatt commercial solar installation proposed on an 88‑acre site near McConnell Road and Lily Pond Road. The board forwarded the petition to the county board with conditions that require the applicant to develop a mutual vegetative screening plan with adjacent landowners before a building permit is issued and to give nearby residents a 30‑day exclusive window to apply for subscriptions if the project enrolls in Illinois' community solar program.

One Energy associate project manager Tori Day told the board the project’s fenced solar footprint will be about 28 acres and will use single‑axis tracking, bifacial panels and native pollinator seed mixes. Day said the company has completed a Phase I environmental site assessment and a wetland delineation that found no wetlands within the proposed solar area, and that it has submitted an EcoAT to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and an Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement (AMA) with the Illinois Department of Agriculture that commits the project to decommissioning and land restoration at end of life.

“Within our parcel boundary we decided to site the project where it is to keep it as far away from the subdivision sanctuary of Bull Valley as we could and to offset it from the public right of way of McConnell Road,” Day said during her presentation, adding the nearest equipment would be roughly 500 feet from the nearest home and about 600 feet from McConnell Road.

Why it matters: the project joins several recent solar installations in McHenry County and, if built as proposed, would add a local source of renewable generation while altering the visual character of farmland adjoining residential properties. Board members and residents discussed screening, construction traffic and whether the project would be offered as community solar to neighbors.

Project and utility details One Energy said the project is designed to interconnect to the local Commonwealth Edison distribution grid and that it has a tendered interconnection agreement. Company representatives estimated interconnection and distribution upgrades in the area could be costly — one speaker cited an approximate $3 million figure for grid improvements — and said the utility will own the poles and lines installed to serve the site.

The applicant estimated the parcels currently generate roughly $3,000 in total taxes per year and projected about $7,000 per megawatt per year for a project of this size — roughly $35,000 annually for a 4.99‑MW installation — an increase the applicant described as approximately 11 times current parcel revenue. The company also said construction would generate the equivalent of about 30 full‑time jobs during the build phase.

Public concerns and negotiated conditions Several nearby residents raised concerns about proximity, year‑round visibility given deciduous tree lines on adjoining slopes, construction traffic and long‑term aesthetics. Gary Weiss (9314 McConnell Road), who said he is the closest residence to the proposed footprint, asked the developer to consider additional evergreen screening and whether neighbors could access subscriptions at a reduced rate.

The applicant said it would work with neighbors on additional screening and take contact information for subscription notices. ‘‘We’d be happy to come and kind of figure out where it would help best screen it from your home,’’ Day told Weiss during the hearing.

The board adopted two substantive conditions during its deliberations: (1) the applicant must work with adjacent landowners to the south and east to develop a mutually agreed vegetative screening plan and provide that plan to the Department of Planning and Development prior to building permit issuance; and (2) in the event the project becomes a community solar project, residents within two miles will receive a 30‑day exclusive window to apply for subscriptions before the project opens to the general public. The second condition was proposed by a board member and accepted by the board as amended.

Board findings and vote Staff told the board the site is zoned A‑1 (agricultural) and that the submitted materials — including notice, surveys, environmental reviews and agency consultation — met county and state requirements for a commercial solar conditional use. The board discussed state and county standards for solar facilities and found the petition met the applicable criteria.

Charlie Eldridge moved to approve the petition subject to the adopted conditions; the motion was seconded and carried on a roll‑call vote with seven members voting yes and none opposed. The board chair said the approved recommendation will be forwarded to the McHenry County Board.

What’s next: the zoning board record and its favorable recommendation will go to the McHenry County Board for final action. The applicant said the earliest construction start would be spring of next year with the earliest commercial operation in the following fall, but that schedule depends on final permits, interconnection paperwork and financing.

Quotes “We’ve been really careful with how we placed it and always continuously willing to work with anyone around us to make sure we’re addressing any of their concerns,” Tori Day, associate project manager at One Energy Renewables, told the board.

“We moved it totally into the back corner as far as we could…we’d be happy to come and figure out where it would help best screen it from your home,” Day told nearby resident Gary Weiss when asked about additional evergreen screening.

Board member Charlie Eldridge, who moved approval, said the county and state standards had been met and described the project as a ‘‘low impact’’ interim land use that will be decommissioned at the end of its useful life.

Notes on what the record does not show The applicant described interconnection upgrade costs as potentially significant but did not provide a signed, itemized ComEd cost estimate in the hearing record; timing and exact cost of those upgrades were described as still being finalized. The applicant also said it has not yet committed the project to Illinois’ community solar program and that final subscription arrangements depend on later decisions and program outcomes.

Sources and provenance All material in this article is drawn from the hearing record for application C26022 (McConnell Road Solar Project) as presented to the McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals (transcript segments summarized in the event timeline). The board’s vote (7–0) and the conditions adopted are recorded in the public hearing transcript and read into the record by staff and board members.

Ending The hearing closed after the board voted 7–0 to approve the conditional use request and transmit the recommendation to the McHenry County Board; the record shows staff and the applicant will continue to negotiate screening details and subscription notice procedures as the project moves to permitting and interconnection steps.