Proposed BESS Project Presentation to Menard Co. Commissioners

Link: Menard County Commissioners meeting; November 10, 2025; agenda item 15, BESS presentation

By Paige Wright
A few things to know and consider: The land (approx. 10-15 acres) considered in the BESS topic below is owned by Tyler & Paige Wright, publishers of The Menard News. Paige is the author of this article. Tyler is a County Commissioner, who, as per the norm, will be recused from any decision the Court may eventually be presented with. Conflict of interest in small community organizations is nothing new to involved individuals. We trust the leaders of involved tax entities to weigh the pros and cons of any issue and to properly recuse any potential conflict of interest as they see fit.
After this meeting we went straight to the state band contest Monday afternoon, allowing little time to get into too much detail on the meeting. We hope to devote more time to it in next week’s newspaper, as the News has some independent industry experts lined up to provide second opinions on the claims from Monday’s presentation. Until then you can view the meeting in its entirety (3+ hours) via the link above.
 

  The regularly scheduled meeting of the Menard County Commissioners ran a bit long on Monday, in response to agenda item No.15, a presentation by RES Energy on the proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) being considered on private property just west of town, within the county and outside of the city limits. In addition to the company representative and project developer, a Senior Energy Storage Engineer, Senior Safety & Quality Supervisor, and an independent Energy Storage Specialist & Fire Consultant were on hand to present and answer questions. The county invited available board members from fellow taxing entities including city council members, hospital board members and school officials to attend and learn alongside them the potential pros and cons of the proposed project. Not all entities were available to attend, but from the meeting on Monday, it was mentioned that additional meetings would be scheduled as needed. We were not informed of confirmation or details provided on that subject but will be sure to publicize any public meeting we are told about.
  Fifty people or more crowded into the County Courtroom on Monday, November 10, 2025, to hear the presentation of a potential BESS project. Both supporters and retractors were present for the public comment/Q&A session offered.
  Again, we will get into more detail next week, but here are some highlights:
Major community concerns seem to be safety, including the risk of fire/explosion and air/soil/water quality. Another concern is who/what entity may eventually end up with the parcel of land (the fear is an unsavory, potentially foreign buyer with no loyalty or care for the local area) and the amount of water the facility will use. Also, who is the party responsible if the owner of the facility abandons the site and concerns the appearance and possible noise pollution from the site. Another biggie is if the developing company will pursue a property tax abatement. 
  These concerns were answered with statistics on the safety record of BESS technology and RES Energy’s track record of above-board projects and operations. After a specific VFD meeting, Menard VFD Fire Chief Tyler Wagner said, "If I combine the education from 25 years of firefighting experience and a smidgen of common sense with what RES [company proposing the project] and an independent, seasoned safety expert have provided I believe that BESS is completely safe and something that our VFD is equipped to handle in an emergency situation." 
  The landowners have requested deed restrictions to avoid the case of the land eventually falling into the ownership of an unfavorable buyer. The day-to-day water usage should amount to the domestic total of washing hands and flushing the toilet in the office. The system is liquid-cooled, by a closed loop set up that was explained as not involving the usage of any local ground or surface water. They also mentioned a 30k gallon emergency water reservoir on site that is brought in rather than sourced on site.
In the event of the site being abandoned years from now, it is state law that the landowner of these facilities must purchase and maintain financial bonds in a specified amount tied to the size of the facility to cover decommissioning and the return of the land to its original state. 
  The project is outside of the city limits but within the county. We will have a map next week, but the proposed site is west of AEP’s Yellowjacket substation near the post office, south of the baseball fields. At the current proposed location, the facility is 1000-1500 feet from the nearest residence/dwelling. 
  Despite the 3-hour meeting, some community concern remains. Because of that we expect additional meetings/info as the project evolves and will keep the newspaper and Facebook page updated if/when anything regarding the proposed project is announced. A number of meeting attendees reached out as the News and as the property owners stating they had reservations going into the meeting, but learning from industry experts and viewing their presentation settled any unrest and they look forward to the potential local benefits of a BESS.
RES claims the proposed facility will consist of approximately 10 acres and house battery containers that resemble sea containers, about 12 feet tall. 
  The project is still early in planning stages so there are many unknowns. Preliminary ballpark numbers as to potential revenue to taxing entities are projected to be around $1 million per year for 15-20 years including an estimated/expected tax abatement. THIS IS A PROJECTED ESTIMATE; everything depends on the final plan if the project gets that far. It is not to the stage of addressing tax abatements yet, so there are no official numbers. Editor's note: since this article has been published, The News was able to work with the county's Chief Tax Appraiser, Kayla Wagner, to estimate some realistic tax income situations. You can find that information from our Thursday, November 20, 2025, edition: Battery storage in adjacent counties and realistic potential of the proposed BESS facility in Menard County | The Menard News and Messenger.
  As stated above, next week there will be a detailed account of the meeting, along with community opinions, concerns, second opinions from industry experts, representatives from counties who have dealt with BESS, local leaders, and all the details we can find. Until then, you can access the full "workshop" at the link at the top of this page.