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Updated: August 2, 2026 @ 6:01 am
A Say No to Solar Farms sign in Catlin earlier this year.
A Say No to Solar Farms sign in Catlin earlier this year.
CATLIN — Forty-year electrical contractor Jay Martin, who lives along Catlin-Tilton Road, says he “gets along just fine” with the corn and beans now surrounding him, but he’s not sure how that would change if the fields across the street were filled with solar panels.
“It’s nice and quiet and peaceful,” Martin said of the life he’s led there for 17 years.
He said he’s worried that if a solar farm goes in, the owners won’t take care of the property. Not addressing the weeds can lead to bugs and other issues, he said.
He’s of the opinion that solar farms should be out in the desert.
As Earthrise Energy continues to wait on local zoning approvals regarding its proposed 1,400-acre solar-farm project along Catlin-Tilton Road, the Catlin Village Board extended its solar-farm moratorium again Tuesday night to Aug. 31. Tilton’s moratorium expired July 1.
Catlin Village Clerk Autumn Lange said “we’re still working on that,” in reference to updating the relevant zoning requirements, thus prompting the council to extend the moratorium.
Village officials said they think another 30 days should be enough time as they continue to work with a specialized Springfield attorney on the zoning-ordinance changes.
The action was similar to a decision made last month.
Earthrise Energy’s counsel has indicated the company’s patience is limited and it is considering legal action.
Catlin board members have said they are developing new language addressing industrial-scale solar and wind farms to focus on health, safety and setbacks.
Tilton Mayor Billy Wear said all his village’s updates came with approval of its zoning comprehensive plan.
“We let it expire,” Wear said of the solar moratorium. “We have a half-mile boundary for future development.”
Under Earthrise’s proposed project, the nearest solar panel for Tilton residents would be more than a half-mile away.
Many other residents have been outspoken about not wanting solar farms taking up more farmland. Those against Earthrise’s project include Catlin-Tilton Road resident Sloan Anderson and rural Catlin resident Patty Jones.
Anderson, a Tilton resident living in Catlin Township who has “Say No to Solar Farms” signs on his property, said “people against it have banded together and stuck together through this whole process” during the last year and a half to two years.
He said some people may not be as public about their opposition but have remained more behind the scenes.
“Groundwater testing is the big concern with the shallow aquifer in the area,” Anderson said.
He’s not on a well, but all his neighbors are, he said.
He’s also concerned about noise pollution and other issues.
Jones, who stands to have solar panels on two sides of her property, added that people who support the project think they’re going to get a lot of money from it, but “there are no guarantees.”
Earthrise could walk off the project and sell it, she said.
She also said the company’s financial agreement with the school district is “basically a bribe” with upfront money, not new or additional revenue.
The Salt Fork school district earlier this year signed a letter of intent with Earthrise outlining a future tax abatement agreement said “will provide earlier access to more than $3.5 million in expected property-tax revenue within the first two years of the solar project’s operation.”
Jones is against the project because, “number one, it will put it on prime soil.”
“It’s a national-security issue,” she said. With less soil to grow crops on, “sooner or later, you’re not able to feed yourself,” Jones said.
She added that all of this also is “detrimental to the wind, ground, environment, water” and “we have no clue” what it will do to the wells.
“Property values are going to go down,” Jones said.
In November, Earthrise submitted applications for special-use permits to Catlin and Tilton, stating that once the moratoriums on solar farms are lifted, the applications can be revised to align with any updated zoning requirements.
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