County Board Approached About Solar Farms
Approximately 10 residents attended Tuesday night’s Bond County Board meeting as a contingent, concerned about the establishment of solar farms in Bond County.
Matt Goodson represented the group and spoke to the board. The transcription of his comments follow:
“ Bond County’s in the process being overrun with solar farms on actual farm ground. Solar energy producers have infiltrated our county promising lease payments from a thousand $4,000 plus per acre in our area. These are great numbers for the landowners and tax revenue generated from these farms.
However, the negative agricultural impact that these farms will have on all of our residents will quickly come to light after construction begins. If farmers circulate money throughout the county, so once the solar farms go up, this is gonna stop. The money will stop circulating on these acres that’s being produced on.
Also, if you live within a mile and a half of these solar farms, expect your property value to decrease. There are five of these solar farms are supposed to be going up in the county. This is gonna have the significant impact on Bond County because of it. It seems like this is being accomplished in the dark and keeping as many people outta the loop as possible, and I think that we need to correct that.
So how many agricultural jobs are gonna be lost in the county because of this? What about all the damage in the county roads that’s gonna be caused all the heavy equipment that goes across? Take that into account too.”
Click below to hear his comments:
Brad Criner, Bond County zoning administrator, told WGEL there is one 40-acre solar farm currently under construction in the county. The county has three other applications, one which is close to being permitted.
Goodson lives in the area where Ranger Power Company has proposed a 1,600-acre solar farm, south of Greenville. Criner said Ranger has not submitted an application to the county but has plans to do so this year.
Charlie Mamlin, from Ranger Power, attended Tuesday’s meeting. In April, the company gave the county a letter indicating it believes the land use permit fees are unreasonable.
At this week’s meeting, Mamlin thanked the zoning and county boards for looking at the permit fees.