Gibson City open house gives glimpse into solar future

Will Simmons
·1 min read

GIBSON CITY, Ill. (WCIA) — Earthrise Energy put on a display at Gibson City’s Kruse Event Center to demonstrate what solar farms could offer.

The company’s Director of Development Emre Ozmen said they want to put solar farms all around Ford County. Before Earthrise Energy submits their zoning application, they gave people a look at the plans.

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Ozmen said the solar farms would bring grid stability to Illinois. He said the company can use their existing natural gas peaking plant to manage harvested energy, and they want to get a feel for community sentiment.

“As we’ve been doing over the past year and a half to two years now, continuously trying to have our ears to the ground with the community has been one of our priorities,” Ozmen said.

He said the solar farms will bring in about $25 million in tax revenue for the amount of time the solar panels will stand. The panels would use about 1,200 acres of farmland around the county. Earthrise Energy will submit their application to build the farms next week.

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