Energy company Ninety West Solar is early in development of a solar panel farm close to New Berlin, according to a Sangamon County official.
NEW BERLIN — An energy subsidiary's plan to set up a solar panel farm in Sangamon County is raising eyebrows among residents.
Ninety West Solar is in the earliest phases of building a solar energy project near New Berlin. Sangamon County Board member Craig Hall, whose district encompasses the village, confirmed the project's existence.
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Ninety West Solar is a subsidiary of Houston-based renewable energy company ConnectGen, according to a 2024 report to the shareholders of Spanish energy company Repsol S.A. Repsol acquired ConnectGen from 547 Energy International in 2023.
Repsol has numerous solar panel and wind turbine farm projects in the U.S., including the 204-megawatt solar and 600-megawatt wind installation Heritage Prairie Renewable under development in Livingston and Kankakee counties. Repsol did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
Ninety West Solar has been working on the project for the past few months, Hall said. County land records indicate the company entered six tenant lease agreements — including at least one New Berlin address — with residents, estates and trusts between January and April.
Ninety West Solar is "gearing up to put it on the grid," Hall said. He did not know how much electricity it plans to generate or to whom it will sell that energy.
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The project has yet to go through Sangamon County Zoning Board of Appeals but may end up on its docket sometime between May and July, Hall said. The board's agenda for its May 21 meeting contains no references to New Berlin or a solar project from Ninety West Solar or an affiliate.
Several residents have expressed concerns on social media about what the project could do to the surrounding area — concerns Hall shares, he said. One of his specific concerns about the project was whether the surrounding community wants or understands it, he said.
He said he has visited the area and talked with people who live there — people who told him they were unaware of the project.
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"When you affect the value of a person's property or the enjoyment of that person's property, is that being a good neighbor?" Hall said.
Ben Singson became a reporter for the Journal-Courier in 2022, joining after graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia. The Lindenhurst native previously reported for KBIA, an NPR affiliate radio station, in college.
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