Anderson County commissioners have renewed a one year moratorium on the development of commercial solar farms in Anderson County, which will allow county leadership and residents an extra year to determine some of the unknowns involved as that industry expands, and will allow commissioners time to review extensive proposed regulations adopted by the County Planning Commission and forwarded for full county approval. That document, produced by Planning and Zoning in recent weeks, was based on an combination of existing documents plus local tweaks, according to County Zoning Director Tom Young.
The adoption of the new moratorium follows tightening restrictions with regard to industrial solar in numerous Kansas communities. Linn County Commissioners recently enacted an outright ban on industrial solar after a similar one-year moratorium on such proposals. Douglas and Johnson Counties have limited solar installations to 1,000 and 2,000 acres respectively. Franklin County has seen two proposed developments in recent months.
Opponents of industrial solar projects say they threaten food production land by usually targeting rural areas outside of urban residential areas.
