Sedgwick county reviewing solar farm regulations, looking for pu - KAKE
Sedgwick County reviewing solar farm regulations, looking for public input - KAKE
Sedgwick County reviewing solar farm regulations, looking for public input
SEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan. (KAKE) - If you drive through parts of northwest Sedgwick County, near Colwich, you’ll probably see signs pushing back against solar development in the area.
Not everyone is against the idea.
“My attitude about it is that I think Kansas needs the energy,” explains Bill Podlena.
His home is directory across the street from a proposed solar farm project that would go in just outside Colwich.
He doesn’t see the project as a issue, as long as the county follows its current rules over solar projects.
“That land is light industrial, that's zoning on it. If they followed regulations for light industrial, I don't think I'm going to have a problem with it."
However, those rules could change by next spring. The metro area planning department is reviewing current county solar regulations, which were updated last in 2019, in part because there has been growing interest to build these type of projects in south central Kansas.
MAPD director Scott Wadle says Sedgwick County has gotten questions from a few companies over what a build would look like.
"As more investments are coming in, that means more locations are being identified for potential sites and so I think that's why you're seeing a lot of counties, you know, looking to address this and determine whether or not commercial scale solar facilities are a good fit for their community."
Part of this review process for the planning department is public feedback. Wadle says they want to make sure that residents, especially those in rural Sedgwick County, have a say in what is put out there.
“This community conversation is so important, because we can get multiple perspectives, we can kind of learn what is the best fit for the community.”
The department says it will have new regulations ready for the county commission to vote on by the time the current moratorium imposed by the Sedgwick County commission ends in March.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: renewables
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