46-megawatt Solar Farm Proposed for Old Prison Site

Kachi Energy Company (KEC), based of Elgin, Illinois, is proposing to develop a 46-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Pembroke Township on the former 140-acre prison site, which has been vacant for nearly 20 years.

Site Plan for Hopkins Park Solar Farm LLC #24

Site Plan for Hopkins Park Solar Farm LLC #26

Spokesperson for Kachi, Paul Brown, says that they look for farm land that shows potential for solar development, which is situated away from the community residents because it’s the cheapest. It poses little threat to the living environment. “When I found this farm land in the Pembroke community, it fit the profile of what we look for.”

He explains that they will lease the property from the Village of Hopkins Park, which will generate revenue for the community. “This solar farm will be a 46-megawatt system at an $86 million development cost, funded entirely by us (KEC), and not dependent on any government-funded backing.”

Companies that require a large amount of electricity, including Amazon, Walmart, and data centers, will be solicited to purchase the energy as ‘off-takers’. However, KEC is not yet at that point. Over the next 6-8 months, KEC will perform an Environmental Impact Study and develop engineering blueprints before applying for the building permit. The project is expected to take approximately 14 months from start to finish to have the solar farm ready to sell energy.

The CDC asked Brown if he was connected to the data mining center that had shown interest in the old prison site about a year ago. That company reportedly considered purchasing a $3 million transformer, but it was too expensive for them, so they backed out, as provided by Mayor Hodge. He also stated, “There will be no data mining center development coming to the Village as long as I am in office.” However, the Village has approved one small-scale data mining center that is currently being built in Hopkins Park at the time of this article. (See Data Mining Center Coming to Pembroke)

Brown did state that they will be building a substation, but will “have to give it to ComEd because we won’t be allowed to own it.” This development is capable of powering 30,000 homes.

To be clear, this project is not community solar! A community solar array is limited to a capacity of 10 megawatts or less. At 46 megawatts, this solar farm project is closer to a utility-scale solar array, designed to benefit the utility company rather than the community.

A Few Notes:

• As a private venture, it is not required to supply the community with electricity. Kachi’s goal is to generate revenue by selling the electricity to large industries, as mentioned earlier.

• Its generated energy and substation will only feed energy to its off-taker corporations and will not supply the community at all.

• This proposed solar farm is expected to create tens of millions of dollars in annual profit for Kachi.

• The jobs that will be made will be filled by union workers required for solar projects exceeding 5 MW.

• Additionally, a typical utility-scale solar project requires approximately 4 to 7 acres of land to produce 1 megawatt (MW) of power, making it necessary to use the majority of the 140-acre site for this project to be built on [see the plans below].

• This is a 30-year generational decision, impacting our next generations with benefits or burdens to bear.

Brown says KEC has already obtained permission from the State, the County, and the Village for the solar farm development. What remains is obtaining permission from the people.

So, how can the community as a whole (Hopkins Park and Pembroke Township) benefit? Will HP Village benefit significantly enough from the lease payments and taxes? That must be specified in the lease agreement. Then you look at those numbers and ask yourself, is that amount of money worth gambling with retaining the control over our own community to big-company lobbyists?

The old prison site was leased to the Village of Hopkins Park by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for a 99-year term following the halt of the prison project. A condition was attached to this lease: the property must be used for the benefit of the community.

A couple of years ago, the CDC proposed that the Village develop part of it into a small industrial park with a recycling plant and a community solar array, with the remaining area designated as a recreational park. The community solar array would provide electricity along Main Street and Central, taking the path that would feed our business district to lower the community’s electricity delivery costs. The IDNR would assist with establishing an ATV park, a fishing area, and other recreational activity zones as requested by the public.

Let’s see the lease agreement.

• Form a committee to create a Community Benefits Agreement [CBA].

• Let’s review the Environmental Impact study.

• Has a public hearing to disclose all of these plans and get community buy-in been scheduled?

• The old prison site is community property. Are there alternative options for generating revenue?

• Will this proposed project benefit the whole Township, in addition to HP Village, with tax dollars? How?

We strive for sustainable infrastructure and resilient projects that we can pass on to our children with pride and a sense of responsibility. To hear more about this and other solar development opportunities for our community, come out to the community meeting at the OKA’N Welcome Center.

To stay informed about this development, contact the Village of Hopkins Park at (815) 944-8313 or visit http://www.kachienergy.com/index.html#services.

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