(Photo by Laura Mancuso for the Illinois Valley News)
There has been a lot of buzz around what is going on at the corner of Caves Hwy. and Laurel Road. The Illinois Valley News has sent numerous emails and left plenty of messages to obtain more information, but to no avail.
The property in question is owned by Dale Peters whose family has owned it since the early ‘60s.
According to Peters, the family originally owned 160 acres which the family farmed and raised cattle. “Jack Sauer ran cattle there back in the day,” he added.
According to Peters who now lives in Medford, the 24-acre parcel had been for sale for years when he was approached by Luminace whose parent company Brookfield Place is New York based.
According to Luminace’s website, “We are one of the largest fully integrated providers of cutting-edge, turnkey clean-energy solutions in the U.S. for meeting the growing need for reliable, resilient, and cost-effective renewable energy across North America.”
In April, Peters put in a request to Josephine County for the property to be partitioned, and it was granted, leaving the 24-acre property that is zoned rural commercial to be leased to Chapman Creek Solar, LLC.
The 20-year ground lease took effect Feb. 9, 2021, and included four, 5-year renewals, which would potentially keep the project there until 2061.
Illinois Valley residents have been asking the following questions about the project of which we put to Blake Hazelrigg the director of customer care on Aug. 11.
“How much power will produce? Who is purchasing the power? Are there any grid upgrades needed for your energy to be put into the power grid? Are there any perceived or known impacts on the environment? Is the solar farm near Eagle point on 62 and 238 one of yours? Is so, what was the cause of the fire? Do you have any others on the area? What is the cost of your project and how long do you think it will take to break even.”
After multiple emails attempting to get a response, an email was sent on Sept. 15 stating, “Thank you for following up. Sorry for the delay here. It is probably best if Luminace declines to comment. I am having trouble getting feedback related to your request and I do not want to keep you waiting any longer.
Hopefully, we can work more closely on another opportunity in the future.”