At a recent Harvey County Commission candidate forum, a question was posed: how does a solar farm operate in the county, with a ban on solar farms? The question came after candidates were asked if they supported the wind and solar ban currently in place in the county. Kyle McCaskey, the communications director for the county, said that the solar farm near East Lake is on private property, not county property. McCaskey said it’s run by Butler Electric Cooperative. Karen Rothe, director of the planning, zoning and environment department, provided further information about regulations for private solar farms or projects in the county. Rothe said it wasn’t a complete ban. The ban only applies to commercial wind and solar, not private landowners. According to the county’s website, the ban only applies to unincorporated areas of the county. According to Rothe, the solar farm in question was in line with current regulations. She added that the solar farm by East Lake had even been used as the model by the planning commission to determine solar regulations in the county. “We haven’t had any complaints about that solar project,” Rothe said. For private landowners, there are still regulations. A solar farm must not be more than 10 acres, and the main use of the solar must be personal use. A portion of the electricity produced must be used in Harvey County. “You can’t just hook it into the electric grid and send it off to Florida where Harvey County sees none of it,” Rothe said.
Source: Harvey County Now
