Industrial Solar in Lexington, Kentucky

By Fayette Alliance / May 15, 2024 / Advocacy

Two different utility-scale, ground-mounted solar projects have recently been proposed for development within the Rural Service Area of Lexington-Fayette County.

Details: Combined, these two proposals amount to over 1,000 acres of nationally recognized Prime Farmland for solar development, located in eastern Fayette County along the I-64 and Winchester Rd. corridors.

Table of Contents

Position Statement

Read Our Solar Energy Systems Position Statement

Here’s What We Think

Fayette Alliance is supportive of renewable energy development, particularly solar on rooftops, brownfield sites, industrial areas, and already built environments.

However: We have serious concerns about the impacts of locating large-scale solar facilities on Lexington-Fayette County’s world-renowned soils. In addition to the environmental impacts and the loss of prime, nationally significant farmland, we are concerned about the precedent set by permitting these types of commercial and industrial uses in our agricultural zones.

Large-scale solar development is a complex land-use issue that must be thoughtfully addressed and informed by research and analysis.

Important: It’s critical that our community efforts for sustainability don’t come at the expense of the land that makes Lexington so unique.

Proposal No. 1: Silicon Ranch

Silicon Ranch, a Nashville-based and privately-owned solar company, has proposed a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (ZOTA) that permits different scales of solar development throughout Lexington-Fayette County, including in the Agricultural-Rural zone.

Details: The ZOTA was proposed to accommodate an approximately 800-acre solar farm off Haley Road in the Agricultural-Rural zone, made up of multiple tracts of land.
Need-to-know: This ZOTA change would apply county-wide, allowing for more developments of this type in the Agricultural-Rural zone.
Fact: In 2018, Shell became the largest shareholder in Silicon Ranch.

Updates

On Thursday, September 26, 2024, he Lexington-Fayette County Planning Commission voted unanimously not to approve the ZOTA proposed by Nashville-based solar development company Silicon Ranch.

The Planning Commission voted to adopt the regulations for industrial-scale solar proposed by the Planning Staff, which prohibits industrial-scale solar developments in Agricultural zones.

Dig deeper: The regulations written by planning staff encourage solar energy systems in appropriate zones throughout our community. In addition, they allows for rooftop and integrated solar in our agricultural areas.

Public Input

Now that both Planning Staff and the Planning Commission have now recommended against this proposed ZOTA, the decision to allow industrial-scale solar developments moves on to Council.

Important: A date for Council to vote on this ZOTA is still to be determined, and we will keep you notified when a date is set.

Click on the image below to read the language proposed for regulating solar energy systems in Lexington-Fayette County by both Planning Staff and the Planning Commission. ⬇️

Read the Lexington-Herald Leader’s Solar Article on Silicon Ranch

View Silicon Ranch’s Website

View Silicon Ranch Project Photos

Proposal No. 2: East Kentucky Power Cooperative

East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) has proposed a 387-acre utility-scale solar development in the Agricultural-Rural zone on Winchester Road.

Details: This project is not governed by local planning and zoning.
Important: It does not require approval by the Planning Commission or Urban County Council. Instead, it is only subject to the Kentucky Public Service Commission application process and requirements.
Dig Deeper: EKPC is a not-for-profit utility company headquartered in Winchester, KY. It is owned and governed by 16 electricity distribution co-ops, which is why it is not governed locally.

Only 2% of EKPC’s service area includes Fayette County residents, and the other 98% of EKPC’s customers are outside of Fayette County.

Further, EKPC’s filing documents with the Public Service Commission estimated that 2-3 full-time jobs will be created by this facility over the course of the 40-year life span of the project, but those jobs will be split between the Fayette County facility and the Marion County facility also being proposed.

Prime Farmland and Industrial Solar

Recently, on September 26, 2024, the Lexington-Fayette County Planning Commission unanimously recommended prohibiting utility-scale solar development in our agricultural zones within our local planning and zoning policies.

Because the majority of our rural area is made up of prime soils — the best for growing food and fiber in the country — and because our Comprehensive Plan prioritizes protecting our rural land and the billion-dollar economic impact of agriculture on our local economy, policies that would permit utility-scale solar development in our rural area are inappropriate.
Need to know: The land proposed for utility-scale solar development by EKPC is 98% prime farmland or soils of statewide significance.

Soil Study: East Kentucky Power Cooperative

Legislative Action

Because the East Kentucky Power Cooperative project is not governed by local planning and zoning, its proposal goes before the state Public Service Commission — a function of the executive branch of state government.

Important: It’s essential that our state representatives hear from us on this issue, specifically our legislators.
More info: Kentucky state legislators are elected officials who represent various districts within the state, create laws, and determine policy.

Even though this project’s future will be determined at the state level, our collective voices still have an important impact on the decision-making process, and should be taken into consideration when decisions on the locations and appropriateness of power generating facilities are made by the Public Service Commission.

Consider: Please reach out to the legislators listed below to express concerns about locating industrial-scale solar generating facilities in the rural area of Lexington-Fayette County.
Planning and zoning policies made by Lexington-Fayette County decision makers should determine the appropriate locations for industrial-scale solar in Lexington-Fayette County, and should not be bypassed by utility companies.

Legislators

Get Involved:

Help us oppose the use of prime farmland for industrial solar and support local policy making for location of solar facilities in two different ways:

Option 1:

Continue to contact the Public Service Commission and submit your comments of opposition. Many of you have done this already, but they need to keep hearing from us.

Click the button below to submit your comment through the Public Service Commission’s website.

Submit Public Comment

Option 2:

Contact our Legislators — they need to know that the East Kentucky Power Cooperative solar project does not have local support in the proposed location on prime farmland.

To write to the Legislators representing Lexington-Fayette County, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Compose a new email, click “BCC” in the “To” portion of the message, then copy and paste the following addresses.

Step 2: Make the subject line of your email read “East Kentucky Power Cooperative Solar in Lexington-Fayette County”

Step 3: Craft your message to our state legislators letting them know you oppose East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s proposed industrial-scale solar project in Lexington-Fayette County because of its location on prime soils.

Let them know: You believe local planning and zoning policies should dictate the location of industrial-scale solar projects moving forward..

About the Soil

: Soil Map provided by USDA

: Soil Map provided by USDA

The United States Department of Agriculture defines “Prime Farmland” as such:

“Land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food. It has the combination of soil properties, growing season, and moisture supply needed to produce sustained high yields of crops economically if it is treated and managed according to acceptable farming methods.”

Using the USDA’s Web Soil Survey map, we attempted to determine approximately how much of the land proposed for solar development was categorized as “Prime Farmland.”

Process

We took a map of Lexington-Fayette County’s PDR-protected farms.
We overlaid maps of the proposed solar development sites.
We then used those maps to identify the soil quality of the proposed areas.

By our calculations, approximately 98.06% of the soil proposed for solar farming is considered “Prime Farmland” or of “statewide significance” by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Need-to-know: None of the proposed acreage is used for equine operations.
Consider: The soil that’s at risk is rich, fertile, and irreplaceable; capable of producing food for generations to come.

Full Details

We compiled our research and other soil-related information into short, easy-to-read PDF packets — one each for the proposed industrial solar projects. The studies include:

maps of the proposed solar sites
soil maps of the land proposed for development
breakdowns of the soil types, including acreage and classification
and more.

Click the buttons below to explore each soil study in detail.

Soil Study: East Kentucky Power Cooperative

Soil Study: Silicon Ranch

Solar Spotlight

As we mentioned, Fayette Alliance is supportive of renewable energy development, particularly solar on rooftops, brownfield sites, industrial areas, and already built environments.

We don’t believe destroying prime, irreplaceable farmland to create industrial-scale solar farms is the best path forward for Lexington-Fayette County.

Cities, universities, and commercial businesses across the US have found creative ways to become more energy-efficient and reduce their carbon footprints.

We should look to these community projects for inspiration before we commit to sacrificing the land that makes our region so unique — that’s why we created our solar spotlight series, to highlight other communities that are working towards creating cleaner, more energy-efficient communities.

Lexington, KY | The Locust Trace Agri-science Campus is a public school in Lexington-Fayette County specializing in the education of Agriculture Engineering, Animal Science, Equine Studies, Food Science, and Pre-Veterinary Studies. The 70,000-sqft. campus was designed to produce more energy than it consumes annually, making it a net-zero school within the Fayette County Public School system.
Denver, CO | The Denver Public School (DPS) system is committed to reducing its overall greenhouse gas emissions by at least 90% of the emissions that existed in 2010 by 2050. DPS even has its own Sustainability Department to help achieve this goal. Solar panels have been installed on the rooftops of various DPS buildings throughout the city, and solar carports have been installed in parking lots. The carport panels were constructed in partnership with the City and County of Denver and will provide bill credits to DPS families who need relief on their energy bills.
Arizona State University | ASU’s comprehensive solar program produces over 53MWdc of energy — enough to power approximately 30,000 single-family homes. The university utilizes both on-site and off-site solar installations to generate this energy. The on-site component of its solar initiative extends to four different campuses and the ASU Research Park, totaling approximately 80,000 solar panels.
Rutgers University | Rutgers University has installed solar panels in 16 different parking lots across its facilities. These multifunctional installments generate approximately 3% of the university’s total energy consumption, and also provide much-needed shade to faculty, staff, and students in the summer months. Clemson University and Michigan State University have begun construction of similar projects on their campuses. complete a similar project on its campus.
Santa Cruz, CA | This California city incentivizes its commercial businesses to invest in solar through rebates, free energy audits, and a city-wide Green Business Certification program.
- It’s important to note that Lexington incentivizes residential solar investment through its Solarize Lexington program. However, commercial businesses often have more land and square footage to accommodate solar infrastructure.
San Antonio, TX | Last year, in September of 2023, the city of San Antonio, Texas allocated $30 million to construct solar panels on 42 different city-owned properties. Solar panels will be installed on rooftops, in parking lots, and in city parks to create shade canopies for residents. In total, this project will offset an estimated 11% of the City’s electricity consumption from its buildings.
Ubiquitous Energy | This US-based company has invented a thin coating that turns windows into transparent solar panels. The company estimated that utilizing this new coating would be able to provide approximately 30% of a building’s energy needs.
The Netherlands | In 2018, the Netherlands built solar bike paths spanning 1,000 square meters. These are not simply bike paths with solar panels placed alongside, rather, the paths themselves contain solar cells that are protected by a multilayer of resin, and the electrical architecture has been designed to reduce the amount of wiring.
Belgium | A two-mile-long rail tunnel has been outfitted with 16,000 solar panels in Belgium, providing enough energy to power all of the trains in the country for one full day.
India | The Cochin International Airport in India is the world’s first airport fully powered by solar energy, winning the “Champions of the Earth” award instituted by the United Nations in 2018. To achieve this, the airport utilizes 46,150 solar panels laid across 45 acres near its cargo complex.
Indiana | Following suit to India’s airport initiative, however much closer to home, the Evansville, Indiana Regional Airport has installed solar canopies throughout its parking. This solar installment is the Midwest’s largest airport solar canopy, and the second largest in the US. This initiative generates enough energy to offset 50% of the airport’s power.

Press and Media

WEKU | May 23, 2024

Forward Kentucky | May 23, 2024

FOX56 | Solar Farm Info Session | July 9, 2024

WEKU | Solar Farm Info Session | July 9, 2024

WKYT | Solar Farm Info Session | July 9, 2024

FOX 56 | Advocacy Efforts | September 3, 2024

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