The City of Macomb Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 5:15 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 23 in the Macomb City Hall Council Chambers, second floor, to consider a special use permit to allow a battery energy storage system, which currently has solar panels in place, at 109 E. Street (off of East University Drive) for IAG Investments LLC, owned and managed by Anthony Donato of Chicago, who is also the CEO of Donato Solar and GAIL Technology. There are currently three warehouse-style buildings on the property.
According to Donato's LinkedIn profile, 'Donato Solar is the investor and developer of solar fields throughout Illinois, with 40MW of developments planned for 2023-2024 with the goal of planning, developing, and owning 100MW of solar fields by 2025, while GAIL Technology 'represents the future of solar farm development and datacenter operations.'
More information may be obtained at the meeting, and the public is invited to express their views on this issue in person or prior to the meeting by calling (309) 833-4944; emailing [email protected] or dropping off written comments at City Hall.
Donato Solar also has another proposed project – the Macomb Wear Solar Project – which will power four buildings that will be constructed to house data centers within city limits, according to a public notice announcing the availability of an environmental assessment, filed with The Community News Brief in March. According to that notice, two service panels will be installed on each data center building and four pad-mounted Ameren transformers (points of interconnect). The new solar facility would impact 28.2 acres of land currently zoned for agricultural special use (the southwest intersection of South Johnson Street and Wear Avenue), near the Macomb Senior High School and Macomb Middle School campuses.
The land at both properties is owned by IAG Investments, and leased for Donato Solar LLC. Donato Solar has submitted an application to the Rural Business-Cooperative Service's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for loan and grant funding for the Wear Street project.
According to the Sierra Club's website, one week before Christmas Eve 2025, the Fulton County Zoning Board of Appeals meeting was packed, with many people standing. The last agenda item took two hours and was a data center zoning proposal for west of Canton.
In Fulton County, Donato Solar requested the Fulton County Zoning Board of Appeals approve a change of property from Agriculture Conservation to Industrial zoning. The plans were to develop 32 acres within a much larger property parcel. The company said they would have two pole buildings for the data center, which would be surrounded by ground-mount solar panels to provide all the energy needed and a closedloop cooling system. The location is not far from Spoon River Junior College, which has on-site residential buildings.
Residents from the surrounding area, including Lake Wee-Ma-Tuk, spoke about property value concerns, potential increased electricity costs, noise, air and water impacts. During the hearing the company was asked repeatedly about water withdrawal and noise levels. Donato Solar did not have a lease or ownership of the property and replied to questions saying that negotiations for the land were moving forward. That resulted in the Zoning Board voting 'no' on the request.
