Hexagon Energy, announced that Steward Creek Solar received approval from Lee County Board of Supervisors for a permit for a 600 MW solar energy facility.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, USA, December 2, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Hexagon Energy, a leading renewable energy development company, announced that Steward Creek Solar has received approval from the Lee County Board of Supervisors for a special use permit for a 600 megawatt (MW) solar energy facility. The project had previously received unanimous recommendation for approval from the Lee County Zoning Board of Appeals on November 5, 2020.

Hexagon CEO, Matthew Hantzmon commented, “Hexagon is extremely pleased to receive approval from Lee County for this project. The Lee County planning staff, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Board of Supervisors have been great partners during the permit process.” Mr. Hantzmon went on to compliment the community on their participation. “The local communities, including the Villages of Steward and Lee, along with the Alto and Willow Creek Townships were instrumental in providing a public forum to review and discuss the project with the many stakeholders in the area.” Steward Creek was able to incorporate many of the suggestions raised in these community forums and committed to a project design that far exceeded the existing Lee County Solar Ordinance.

The 600 MW Steward Creek solar energy facility will occupy 5,000 acres in Lee County Illinois, approximately 1-hour due west of Chicago. The project will interconnect to the PJM regional transmission system, and once complete, the project will generate enough electricity to power approximately 116,000 homes. Studies are also underway to evaluate the ability to add a 150 MW (600 MW hour) energy storage component to the project.

Lead project developer Will Hantzmon said, “Since Steward Creek’s conception, the number of participating landowners has grown to 24 across 68 parcels. During our outreach to adjacent and local neighbors, additional landowners in the area have expressed an interest in participating in a second phase of the project. This is the type of community enthusiasm and engagement that we strive to foster.”

The project is expected to create 600 jobs during the 2-year construction period, beginning in late 2022, and 15 to 20 full-time operations and maintenance jobs. In addition, Steward Creek Solar is projected to increase local taxes by about $81 million over the 35-year project life. The project has also committed to setting up two non-profit organizations to fund special projects for the Villages of Steward and Lee during the project lifetime.

About Hexagon Energy: Headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, Hexagon is a leading renewable energy development company. Hexagon has a 7.5 GW development pipeline of solar, wind, and energy storage projects in 15 states, ranging from distributed generation to utility scale. In 2019, Hexagon sold an 878 MW portfolio of mid and late stage solar and wind energy projects.

Matthew Hantzmon
Hexagon Energy
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