Boone County officials are considering a two-year moratorium on new solar power and wind energy projects while the county updates its comprehensive plan.
The move would come as Virginia-based Hexagon Energy develops plans for a 3,000-acre solar farm north of Jamestown in western Boone County and Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources renews interest in building a solar farm near Zionsville.
In 2021, the Zionsville Board of Zoning Appeals and the Boone County Area Plan Commission blocked NextEra’s plan for a $210 million, 1,660-acre solar farm in Union and Marion townships. The proposed Brickyard Solar project would have brought approximately 675,000 solar panels to various tracts of land along U.S. 421.
Boone County Area Plan Commission Executive Director Stephen Elkins told IBJ he is not aware of any wind energy projects that have been submitted or discussed for unincorporated Boone County. He said wind projects were discussed about 15 years ago but never went forward.
Earlier this month, the Boone County Area Plan Commission delivered a letter to the Boone County Commissioners recommending a moratorium on solar power and wind energy projects.
The potential moratorium was discussed at the commissioners’ meeting on Monday, but Commissioner Jeff Wolfe said a decision will not be made until after more study has been completed on the issue. Fellow Commissioner Donnie Lawson said a larger public meeting should be held to learn more about how solar projects could impact residents.
Lawson, Wolfe and Tim Beyer comprise the three-member board of commissioners.
“I’m big on private property rights, but I’m also big on how I affect all the neighbors with whatever I do on my land,” Lawson said.
Wolfe said that he wants to learn more about the potential impact of solar farms on farmland. He said universities like Purdue, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State have not yet studied the agricultural impacts.
“It seems to me that something that’s missing here,” Wolfe said. “We need to know is there an impact for a long-term effect on this farmland?”
Wolfe added he is concerned about the possibility of the state taking the decision out of Boone County’s hands if a two-year moratorium is in place. He cited legislation passed in recent years in Indiana that created voluntary standards for solar and wind energy throughout the state.
“What I’m afraid of is if we put on a moratorium, we may have this decision taken away from us,” Wolfe said. “And that’s something I certainly don’t want to happen.”
Supporters and opponents of the solar projects spoke at Monday’s meeting.
Jeff Jacob, an attorney with Indianapolis-based Hackman Hulett LLP who is representing Hexagon Energy, called the potential moratorium “fundamentally unfair” for Hexagon, which he said has 3,000 acres under contract in Boone County.
“Don’t take this extreme measure of suggesting that you’re protecting your comprehensive plan,” Jacob said. “If you’re protecting your comprehensive plan, let’s stop all development for two years. But don’t focus on one business that has actively been discussing with the community on how to develop.”
Jordan Burke, a project developer for Hexagon, said the company understands and respects that western Boone County is historically focused on agriculture. Burke said farming can occur within a solar facility and that soil can be farmed after solar panels are removed.
“The reason farmers are interested in working with us, and we’re working with a lot of old farmers in western Boone, is they don’t believe this will permanently affect or erase their farm ground,” Burke said.
Jack Bowen, a farmer who has leased land to Hexagon, asked the commissioners to not approve a moratorium. He said his family has lived on his 100-acre farm since 1902, and he believes that solar farms in western Boone County would be a buffer against housing and commercial developers from building subdivisions and warehouses near his land.
“I don’t see this as being any big detriment to the county. I do know that I can see growth coming,” Bowen said. “As I go into Lebanon on the south side, I see the new baseball complex, I see the new housing. … The town is coming to me.”
Michael Andreoli, an attorney representing residents in Marion and Union townships near Zionsville, said residents have environmental concerns about solar arrays. He said the commissioners should do a cost-benefit analysis of permitting companies to install solar farms, and he cited studies saying solar arrays result in farmland being taken out of use for 40 to 50 years.
Residents Victoria Wessler and Stacy Sutphin also spoke. Both Wessler and Sutphin operate Facebook groups opposing solar projects in Boone County that have hundreds of members.
Wessler said she and other community members believe a moratorium would be critical to help the county develop a strategy to address the issue of solar and wind farms. She said a moratorium would also help the county learn about the impact of energy projects on farmland and about the potential loss of farm-related business revenue on the county.
“It gives us the necessary pause and sufficient time to be thoughtful and thorough in the analysis of the tremendous permanent impact that these projects will have on our community and to let us decide how we want to approach them in the future,” Wessler said.
Sutphin said people in rural Boone County are concerned about the potential impact of solar farms on their property values and wonder if they should sell their homes now.
“This threat to our homes and our way of life has deeply affected our community,” Sutphin said. “One of the biggest concerns around this has been the secrecy and the aggressive influence of the developer who has come into our community and has caused great distrust amongst our residents, strife and real anxiety for many of them.”
Discussion about a moratorium on solar and wind projects comes as the Indiana Economic Development Corp. looks to develop the LEAP Lebanon Innovation and Research District northwest of Lebanon.
The IEDC has secured roughly 9,000 acres for LEAP—which stands for Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace—and designated different areas for renewable-energy projects, shovel-ready development, research and development, and even a mixed-use village concept.
Last year, Eli Lilly and Co. formalized plans to invest $3.7 billion in a drug manufacturing site in the district, where the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant will serve as anchor tenant. The company says the expansion will create 700 jobs.
The Boone County Area Plan Commission earlier this year also approved an overlay district along major corridors in rural Boone County to manage growth and development that could happen there.
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