Jacksonville delays vote on solar field rezoning amid neighborhood concerns

Nexamp’s 3.5-megawatt solar field east of Jacksonville drew questions about stormwater, panel setbacks, construction traffic on Blacks Lane, screening, property values and decommissioning before the city council’s rezoning vote.

The project calls for a 3.5-megawatt solar field under a 40-year lease that would stretch from south of Morton Avenue to the railroad tracks. Nexamp has already offered several concessions to ease the neighborhood fight, including reworking access roads so construction traffic stays off Blacks Lane, removing a vacant house on the east side of Blacks Lane and giving the city a $100,000 payment to spend as it wishes. Nexamp also said nearby residents would get first shot at a power-bill credit.

Even with those changes, residents were not satisfied. Ben Cox said people may be trapped between a Nexamp solar tax credit and Jacksonville’s aggregate power-supply arrangement, raising the possibility that residents could not use both. Alderwoman Lori Large Oldenettal said too many questions remained and wanted clearer direction on how the city should distribute the $100,000 gift rather than leaving that choice entirely to the council. Neighbors also pressed for answers about flooding, wildlife impacts and possible toxicity concerns linked to the panels.

Nexamp held an open house at Twisted Tree Music Hall in April for Prairie Knolls residents. At that meeting, Nexamp said the project was a 15-acre solar field off Morton Avenue near the railroad tracks. Nexamp said Ameren customers could subscribe for bill credits and projected savings of about 15 percent, with income-eligible households potentially saving up to 20 percent. The company said it expected about a year to pass before subscriptions would be offered.

The local fight is unfolding under a 2023 state framework that standardized county regulation of commercial wind and solar facilities and blocked outright county bans, while still leaving local siting rules in place. Morgan County adopted its own Wind and Solar Energy Ordinance in 2023, and Jacksonville has already seen one solar proposal denied in 2024 after objections over size and location.