The Warren County Commission on Oct. 1 approved rules allowing solar energy farms to be established in rural areas of the county.

The new regulations describe the process for creating a “solar energy overlay district,” a type of zoning that will be available to agricultural property owners. A number of requirements for the districts are aimed at preventing solar power farms from becoming an eyesore or nuisance for neighbors.

Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the rules, and adopted them into the Warren County zoning codes on Oct. 8.

No actual development projects were approved by the commission. Solar developers will have to submit an application declaring where they wish to establish a solar energy district, and each application will go through its own planning and zoning hearings, said County Attorney Mark Vincent.

Solar farm operators will also need to apply and pay thousands of dollars for an annual operating permit. The county commission will vote on specific requirements for those permits on Oct. 8.

At least two energy companies are planning to build solar farms in Warren County. Representatives of Invenergy and Ranger Power spoke at several recent public hearings, advocating for the solar district rules to be approved. Invenergy lead developer Michelle Pavan said the companies have already been securing leases for more than 3,000 acres of land where they hope to build solar panels.

The developments are predicted to generate around $1 million annually in permit fees, which will be divided among local public services.

Attorney Vincent speculated that the two energy companies will submit applications for their specific projects within a week of all the regulations being approved.

Support and opposition

Members of the public, including many farmers, voiced their support or objections to the solar district rules at three public hearings in September. The final hearing was Sept. 29 at Central Grove United Methodist Church on Highway A.

“I think it’s a good thing,” said Leo Sumner at the hearing. “It’s a renewable energy. It renews itself day after day. You don’t have to build another (power) plant.”

Walter Mueller commented that his neighbor plans to lease property to a solar company, and asked how water runoff from the panels will be controlled.

Ranger Power’s Pete Endres replied that the ground around solar panels remains unpaved and planted with native grasses to absorb water and prevent excess runoff.

Some farmers, like Marty Schneider, said they just don’t want to see solar panels every day.

“I’ve worked a lifetime to get what I’ve got, and I really don’t want to look at something so ugly as solar panels,” Schneider said. “As far as I’m concerned, head for the desert where nobody gives a (care). ... They’re the most ugly things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner replied to that concern by saying property owners have a right to use or develop their land, as long as they aren’t causing erosion or damage to someone else’s property.

“I once got chewed out for wrapping a bunch of bales on a ridge, because I destroyed the neighbor’s view. If he wanted that view, he should have bought that field,” Kluesner commented.