Subscription Services
Cloudy skies. Areas of patchy fog. High 52F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..
Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Areas of dense fog. Low 52F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Updated: December 27, 2025 @ 3:00 pm
Summit Ridge Energy’s concept plan for a 36-acre solar farm west of the Mahomet village limits. The proposed project site is located east of 125 East, south of U.S. 150 and north of the Spring Lake and Bryarfield Acres subdivisions.
Summit Ridge Energy’s concept plan for a 36-acre solar farm west of the Mahomet village limits. The proposed project site is located east of 125 East, south of U.S. 150 and north of the Spring Lake and Bryarfield Acres subdivisions.
To subscribe, click here.
To submit a letter to the editor, click here.
MAHOMET — Residents in two neighborhoods west of the village limits are calling on the Champaign County Board to shoot down a Virginia-based developer’s plans for a 36-acre solar farm north of their homes.
The county board will vote Thursday on whether to grant Summit Ridge Energy’s request for a special-use permit.
“I don’t think people realize that you could be supportive of someone having solar on their home or a small array on their own land, but an industrial-scale solar facility on prime farmland that angles toward a residential lake that then leads into the Sangamon River is a totally different kind of project when it’s run by an out-of-state developer,” said Alexis Bozarth, a resident of the Spring Lake subdivision.
The proposed project site is made up of two parcels, which total about 96 acres altogether and are located east of 125 East, south of U.S. 150 and north of the Spring Lake and Bryarfield Acres subdivisions.
The parcels are respectively owned by the Nurmi Family Trust, care of trustee Paul Nurmi, and Greater Heritage Farms LLC. The managers of the limited liability company are Paul and Virginia Nurmi.
Summit Ridge Energy is seeking multiple waivers for the project, including one that would allow the solar farm to be located less than 1.5 miles from an incorporated municipality.
The company is also asking for a waiver to be located 65 feet away from a non-participating lot that is 10 acres or smaller “in lieu of the minimum required separation of 240 feet between the solar farm fencing and the property line.”
Bridget Callahan, vice president of project development at Summit Ridge, said that in addition to the owners being open to leasing the land, the site fulfills the company’s technical needs.
“A viable site needs to be close to existing electrical infrastructure with enough capacity for interconnection, and the land itself has to be suitable from an environmental perspective — meaning not too many wetlands or other constraints that would limit development,” she said. “The site also has to meet Ameren’s standards for suitability. Finding land that checks all those boxes isn’t easy, but this property did.”
If the company receives the necessary approvals, site mobilization would likely start in late winter, with construction continuing through spring and summer, Callahan said. The project would be expected to be complete and operational sometime in 2026.
“We typically lease land for the life of the project, which is usually between 25 and 40 years,” she said. “That long-term commitment ensures the project delivers consistent benefits for the community and stable income for the landowner.”
The energy would be sold to the power grid as a community-solar project, and members of the public would be able to sign up as customers and get a 10 percent to 15 percent reduction in energy costs, said County Zoning Administrator John Hall.
County officials have been reviewing the proposed project for several months, and Bozarth created a Facebook group titled “Stop the Solar Farm by Spring Lake!” in March. The group has amassed over 170 members since then.
“I was one of only a handful of residents that even received a letter in the mail from the Champaign County zoning department notifying us of the proposed project,” she said. “And I know that in situations like this, it’s important to get the word out to as many people as possible, just to notify people of what’s going on, because the developers normally try not to spread awareness of their projects.”
In addition to her concerns about transparency, Bozarth said that the homeowners’ association in Spring Lake is paying to dredge silt and sediment from the lake to maintain its health. This is an expensive, multi-year process that began in 2024.
“With this project the way that it’s situated, the land, the field, slopes to the west,” she said. “There’s a waterway that leads into Spring Lake and then Spring Lake has an overflow basin where it goes into the Sangamon River.”
She believes that using heavy equipment during construction will compact and erode the soil, and that there will be runoff from water hitting the solar panels, thereby washing “a whole bunch more dirt into the lake.”
Bozarth also expressed concern that, if the county board chooses to approve the requested waivers, “it would set an example for other corporations.”
Additionally, Linda Hambleton, a longtime resident of Bryarfield Acres, wrote in a recent News-Gazette “My Turn” guest column that residents are also worried about property values, impacts on wildlife and potential contamination of the Mahomet Aquifer.
However, Hall said that the solar farm “poses no risk to groundwater quality,” and consultation with the state’s Ecological Compliance Assessment Tool shows that negative impacts to threatened or endangered species are unlikely.
Additionally, zoning staff have drafted several conditions for the project that document the requirements of the local zoning ordinance and state law, Hall said.
“Under state law, the construction will have to have an ILR10 erosion-control permit with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and the ILR10 permit is intended to minimize erosion,” he said. “Once construction is complete, the land will be in permanent vegetation, and so there will be less runoff than under agriculture.”
He added that the developer will have to protect farm-drainage tile from being disturbed during the construction and maintain it for the life of the project. Additionally, the interior of the solar farm will be planted with native species to attract pollinators and benefit soil health.
“At the end of the solar farm’s useful life, the Decommissioning and Site Reclamation Plan will pay for removal of the solar farm, and the property can be returned to farmland,” Hall said.
“As a long-term owner and operator of solar projects, we take community concerns seriously,” Callahan said. “We understand that neighbors want clarity on issues like runoff, farmland use, noise and property values, and we do our best to address each one transparently.”
For instance, she said that Summit Ridge Energy has “voluntarily committed” to put in vegetative screening to help shield the site from view.
“Importantly, solar projects are quiet neighbors,” she added. “They don’t create significant noise, vibrations or odors, and studies consistently show they don’t reduce property values. The project will also comply with the Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement, which safeguards farmland and ensures responsible deconstruction at the end of the project’s life.”
The county board’s environment and land use committee has recommended that the board deny this permit, with a vote to recommend approval failing 4-2 on Sept. 4.
County board chair Jennifer Locke, a relatively new member of the committee who made the motion to recommend approval, said that while she sympathizes with concerned citizens, the proposed project meets and exceeds the requirements set by state law.
“Unfortunately, Champaign County’s ordinance does not comply with state laws and state ordinances,” she said. “So I’m in support of it in that ultimately, if we deny it, it’s my belief that it would end up happening anyway, and it would be a huge legal bill for the county.”
The only waivers sought are in areas where the county zoning ordinance is noncompliant with state law, she added.
“You move to a place, you want it to look the way it is when you fall in love with it,” Locke said. “But that’s not the system that we actually live in.”
“Our opposition is not against renewable energy itself, but rather against the placement of a 36-plus-acre industrial solar farm with 40 inverters and 12,900 or so solar panels on prime agricultural land and next to a residential neighborhood,” Linda Hambleton writes.
Board member John Farney said there were multiple reasons to delay the vote, including “issues that were brought up in public comment.” He also felt that voting that night wouldn’t be fair to new member Monique Settles.
“This board needs to keep in mind its commitment to the people of Champaign County to use prime farmland efficiently and wisely,” Kathy Wallig writes.
One month after tabling a special-use permit for a proposed solar farm near Mahomet, the Champaign County Board voted Thursday night to approve the request by a narrow margin of 11-10.
The News-Gazette mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the News-Gazette on your mobile device just as it appears in print.
Pick the brain of multimedia reporter Kathy Reiser.
Have a question for 25-year Vermilion County beat writer Jennifer Bailey? Submit them here and she’ll respond each Thursday.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
