Morgan County Board Approves Zimmer Solar Field North of Jacksonville After Opposition

The Morgan County Board of Commissioners approved an application from Zimmer Solar 1, LLC to site a solar energy field north of Jacksonville, voting to allow the project along sub-station Road off Route 78 to move forward while Commissioner Michael Woods cast the sole opposing vote.

The board reconsidered the Zimmer Solar proposal at a Feb. 20, 2026 meeting after the project had already drawn a large crowd at a previous county hearing. Zimmer Solar representative Margaret Blum attended the Feb. 20 session to answer questions from commissioners and residents about pre-construction activity and site plans.

Neighbor Cody Smith raised the first public objections at the meeting, telling the board that trucks conducting soil samples at the site had overstepped promises Zimmer had made and that contractors had unloaded equipment that blocked county roads near the property. Smith said he was disappointed with the board’s approval but acknowledged he understands commissioners have limited authority in the broader siting process.

Margaret Blum acknowledged neighborhood concerns at the meeting and pledged to investigate the complaint about blocked roadways, telling commissioners she understood why neighbors were upset. No detailed timeline or corrective measures were presented at the meeting beyond that promise to look into the roadway complaint.

Commissioners discussed visual screening for adjacent property owners, specifically whether evergreens would be planted on the west side of the property to block the field from line of sight. The board did not include any stipulation about planting or screening in the motion approving the siting application, and commissioners said they could not make that stipulation as part of the county approval.

Woods registered a dissent and framed his vote as largely symbolic, warning that state-level siting authorities have limited county input in these renewable energy approvals. With the county approval now recorded, Woods’ remarks underscore an ongoing tension between local complaints about construction impacts and the state-regulated framework for energy siting.

At the same Feb. 20 meeting the board also approved routine bills, including funding to purchase a patrol car for the Morgan County sheriff’s department, and approved the Reichert subdivision. Moving forward, enforcement of any contractor activity on county roads and the implementation of voluntary screening measures will depend on Zimmer Solar’s follow-up, any county incident reports about blocked roadways, and how state siting procedures address municipal concerns.