“No Solar Farm” signs could be seen in the audience during Monday’s county Planning and Zoning Commission hearing on Earthrise Energy’s Pride of the Prairie solar development. The hearing will continue at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Renaissance Center in Joliet. (Photo by Andrea Arens)

By Andrea Arens

JOLIET — A packed room and hours of public testimony highlighted deep divisions Monday night as the Will County Planning and Zoning Commission began hearings on a proposed 600-megawatt, 6,000-acre solar farm by Earthrise Energy.

More than 100 people signed in to speak at the meeting, with public comments limited to four and a half minutes per person. Earthrise representatives opened the evening with a roughly 90-minute presentation outlining the project’s scope, including projected tax revenue, job creation, landscaping plans, and research on property values near solar developments.

Public comment did not begin until around 7:30 p.m., quickly revealing a split among attendees. Many speakers in favor of the project included union members, renewable energy advocates from outside the immediate area, and representatives of organizations that have received financial support from Earthrise. A smaller number of speakers voiced support from a farming perspective, emphasizing landowner rights.

Union presence was highly visible, with members—many wearing orange—filling roughly half the room. However, as in a previous meeting on Earthrise’s Plum Valley Solar project, representatives from the carpenters union raised concerns about being excluded from the project labor agreement (PLA).

Local officials expressed frustration as well. Officials from Green Garden, Manhattan, and Wilton townships urged the commission to delay any vote, saying they need more time to study the proposal. Several officials said their townships had not been adequately approached by Earthrise and lacked full information about the project’s scope.

Tensions rose near the end of the meeting when a planning and zoning commissioner instructed remaining speakers to sit down around 9:15 p.m., despite earlier indications the meeting would run until 9:30. The session concluded with some confusion, as the clerk twice prompted Commission Chair Hugh Stipan to move toward adjournment before a motion was finally made and seconded.

The hearing is set to resume Tuesday, March 31, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Center in Joliet, where additional public comment is expected.

Andrea Arens is a freelance reporter.