Fayette County needs to better regulate solar farms in agricultural zones

It’s no secret that the Bluegrass region is home to world-renowned farmland: crops, horse farms, bourbon production, and rolling hills that draw millions of visitors each year. None of this is possible without our excellent soils, the backbone of our productive countryside.

Communities across the country that have excellent soils—or lands designated by the USDA as best suited for food production—are proactively ensuring that their local planning and zoning rules regulate solar projects to protect agricultural land from industrial-scale solar development. Instead, they are prioritizing solar in industrial zones, commercial areas, and built environments. We need to work together to ensure Lexington does the same.

Currently, tax-exempt utility Eastern Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) is proposing nearly 400 acres on Winchester Road for utility-scale solar development on land that is about 98% agricultural or statewide land. Not far away, private developer Silicon Ranch is proposing development on more than 800 acres and major changes to our local planning and zoning ordinance to make it possible.

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If permitted, these developments would introduce industrial and commercial uses into our rural agricultural zone that are not otherwise permitted, destroying in the process our most important resource: our prime farmland and the ability to use that land for agricultural purposes. Our community should be involved in creating smart policies for utility-scale solar development—not developers.

Why was no action taken during the Central Bank Centre renovation project to ensure that the 11-acre facility would have solar panels on its roof?

Will city officials require solar panels in the new city hall project?

Will solar panels be recommended for use in the proposed 2,800-acre Urban Service Boundary expansion?

Lexington-Fayette County can support renewable energy efforts and has had, and will have, many more opportunities to do so. Solar energy does not have to come at the expense of our most limited and precious resource. Let’s first look at our industrial, commercial and built environments for solar projects.

Alarmingly, the ECPC is not subject to local planning and zoning laws, and the opportunities for public involvement and comment are much more limited. Fayette County residents must voice their opinions to the ECPC and the Kentucky Public Service Commission, which have jurisdiction over the ECPC proposal.

You can do this by emailing [email protected], Case No. 2024-000129. We also need to make sure our local elected officials, planning staff, and Planning Commission members know where we stand on protecting prime farmland and implementing prudent local planning and zoning policies for Lexington-Fayette County. You can do this by emailing [email protected]. Our agricultural economy and identity depend on it.

Carolyn Plumlee is a former member of the LFUCG Planning Committee and Adjustment Board and the 2021 recipient of the Emma Tibbs Neighborhood Hero Award.