OREGON – The Ogle County Board voted 13-11 Tuesday to approve a special-use permit for a solar project in Haldane, between Forreston and Polo, after a lawsuit filed by the petitioner.
The company, Cenergy Power, previously requested a permit for a 5-megawatt community solar project in Lincoln Township on agricultural-zoned land, a request that was unanimously denied by the board in April because of the land’s high Land Evaluation and Site Assessment score for agriculture use.
LESA is a land evaluation method that uses a rating system to assess the agricultural value of a piece of land, considering the quality of soil and other factors such as location and surrounding land use. The board passed a resolution in March declaring its intent to support high-quality farmland.
