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Prairie Hill Landfill Solar Farm Lease Approved

Turning Trash into Treasure
For Immediate Release
Morrison, IL -
May 16, 2018

Whiteside County’s Prairie Hill Landfill will soon be home to a solar farm. The County Board unanimously approved a land lease to IPS Energy for development of a solar farm on the cap of the landfill’s closed portion. The solar farm could develop into a 10 mega-watt facility.

The County is one of many communities to take advantage of Illinois’ Future Energy Jobs Act (2016) which mandates that 25 percent of ComEd’s and Ameren’s power come from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, by 2025.

“A solar farm requires a lot of area, and a closed landfill makes an excellent site for one. We are excited to create additional, long-term value for the closed landfill by leasing the closed landfill cap to a solar farm that will be supplying clean energy to the area’s residents and businesses,” said Jim Duffy, Whiteside County Board Chair.

Gary Camarano, Whiteside County’s Economic Development Director, said, “It's almost poetic that the landfill, a highly visible reminder of the human impact on our environment, will be home to a solar farm that will generate clean, renewable energy. We are transforming our trash piles into renewable energy treasure with a planned solar farm at the closed landfill.”

The terms of the lease provide for a 25-year term (with two possible five year extensions) with a lease rate of $10,000 per mega-watt acre (it takes approximately eight acres to produce a mega-watt), and a 2% annual increase in the lease rate.

Over the course of the lease there is the potential for the County to take in over $5.2 million dollars in lease payments if the solar farm reaches a 10 MW output.

For More Information Contact

Gary Camarano, Director
Whiteside County Economic Development Department
(815) 772-5182
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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