Lexington can support solar in built environment and protect productive farmland | Opinion

In April, private Nashville-based developer Silicon Ranch filed a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (ZOTA) application that, if approved, would permit industrial scale solar energy production throughout Lexington-Fayette County, including in our agricultural zones. The policy changes are being requested to accommodate a nearly 800-acre solar farm project in Eastern Fayette County between Winchester Road and Haley Road.

Shortly after, East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) announced they, too, had a solar project in Fayette County - totaling close to 400 acres off of Winchester Road. This project isn’t governed by local planning and zoning policies and is subject to oversight only at the state level by the Public Service Commission.

Fayette County is now facing more than 1,000 acres of industrial-scale solar facility development in the zone created specifically to support our agricultural economy, and where these types of industrial uses are currently prohibited. The size of the arrays developed would be comparable to more than 300 Costco’s in the same footprint.

The projects proposed create, between them, less than 5 long-term jobs. Annual tax revenue is minimal. Less than 2% of East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s customers are inside Fayette County. The energy generated by Silicon Ranch’s project would be for sale to the larger energy grid — and they do not control who receives it or at what cost.

Of the land proposed for these solar facilities, 98 percent is designated by the USDA as “prime farmland” — the very best for growing food and fiber in the country — and soils of statewide significance. Further, the Winchester Road corridor where the proposals are located is designated by the state of Kentucky as a scenic by-way, vital for tourism, our local, cultural identity, and economy.

Fayette Alliance supports responsibly sited solar energy, efforts to reduce carbon emissions and diversify our energy sources. We know it’s important to our fellow community members as well. The great news is that opportunities to use rooftops, parking lots, and appropriate commercial and industrially-zoned areas across the city are vast, and only increasing as solar technology advances. They already exist here and across the country:

▪ Hallway Feeds, a locally owned and operated agricultural manufacturing company, has integrated solar on the grounds and rooftops of its mill facilities on Loudon Avenue, generating 75% of its energy needs.

▪ Locust Trace AgriScience center, part of Fayette County public school system, uses rooftop solar and energy efficient design to be a net zero energy campus.

▪ Arizona State University has 90 solar installations generating energy onsite that powers four campuses. The university has been carbon neutral since 2019 with the aid of rooftops, parking structures, and surface parking lots.

▪ The Raleigh-Durham Airport generates most of its energy through solar panels installed on covered rooftops in its parking lots, which shades cars and reduces the urban heat island effects.

It’s possible to generate clean energy and protect our productive farmland. To do so, we must put into place policies which permit industrial-scale solar development only where it is appropriate. Consistent with best practices from around the country and our own Comprehensive Plan, Lexington-Fayette County should not allow industrial-scale solar facilities in our agricultural zones. Creating green energy should not come at the expense of destroying another green, and vital, community asset — our unique farmland.

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the solar energy ZOTA on Thursday, September 26th at 1:30pm at City Hall, 200 E. Main Street, Lexington, KY. Learn more about how to make your voice heard at the Planning Commission and the Public Service Commission on these issues here .

Brittany Roethemeier is executive director of the Fayette Alliance, a land-use advocacy group.