BELLEVILLE, Ill. – A 25-acre solar farm is set to be installed at Mount Hope Cemetery in Belleville, Illinois, with the final informational meeting scheduled for this Thursday.
The solar farm, which will be located at 9401 West Main Street, Belleville, will occupy the rear of Mount Hope Cemetery, a historic site dating back to the late 1800s with over 27,000 burials.
The project is being developed by Belleville Solar, LLC, owned by Shine Development from Texas, which will lease the property from the city. This initiative aims to help offset the maintenance costs of the 132-acre cemetery.
The city of Belleville has been maintaining Mount Hope Cemetery after it went into receivership with the state of Illinois. The installation of the solar farm will involve clearing trees from the site, a process that could begin within the next few months.
The solar farm will have a capacity of five megawatts and is a collaboration between Shine Development and Straight Up Solar. The project is expected to provide financial benefits to the city, helping to cover the costs associated with the upkeep of the cemetery.
The third and final informational meeting regarding the solar farm project will take place on Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Welcome Center, located at 2300 West Main Street.
This meeting will provide residents with the opportunity to learn more about the project and its implications for the community.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.
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