Muncie, Indiana. - The Delaware County Mountain Planning Commission voted last week against some provisions of a new zoning ordinance that could limit the development of large solar power plants in the county.
“It's outrageous,” said Jason Cosme, an attorney for Gaston-area farmers who oppose the use of solar panels on farmland from Gaston to Matthews. The Meadow Forge project is proposed by Chicago-based global energy company InvEnergy.
More than a year after debate began over Meadow Forge in Washington Township, a committee made up of opponents and supporters of a proposed solar project in the northern part of the county is developing new rules. Plans for a separate, smaller solar farm near Albany, by a separate company, are also being considered.
County commissioners issued a solar ban and concurrent ordinance in February 2022.
Planning Director Martha Moody, who wrote the original solar law and chaired the commission since its inception, died in January of this year, slowing the legislation's progress. The Planning Commission's Solar Energy Committee hired Indianapolis consulting firm Rundell & Ernstberger to keep the records, which commissioners voted on and presented to the commission Thursday.
The meeting was held in the Delaware County Justice Center auditorium and the expected crowd was more than 100 people. Many solar farm supporters carried yellow signs and red T-shirts in protest of the size of the solar farm.
Linda Hansen, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Delaware County, called for an end to solar blackouts, opposed the amendment introduced by the Solar Energy Commission and encouraged solar farms to benefit the entire county.
Other speakers at the solar project warned about global warming, including one speaker, Muncie Rep. David LeBlanc, who said one reason to support solar energy is the global warming crisis caused by the use of fossil fuels as an energy source.
He also said floods would occur as people moved from Central America to North America to escape the heat.
"I don't see any reason why people can't put solar panels on their property," said Phil Gibb of Gaston. "I don't like seeing them either."
He said people have the right to do what they want with their property.
In 2022, Invenergy reached an agreement with 17 property owners who committed to leasing farmland for a solar project that would split the Gaston community in half. The conflict continued for two years.
Opponents of the plan wrote to the commission asking it to support an amendment that would limit farmland used for solar projects to no more than 2% of the county and require property value protections. The proposal would require agreements between homeowners not participating in the project and the project developer where the developer would pay for the homes lost in the project.
Both ordinances were rejected by the Planning Commission. State Representative Sue Errington, a Democrat from Muncie, told commissioners the law's provisions were "indefensible."
He said the provisions are intended to keep utility-scale solar out of the county. None of Syria's opponents disagreed.
Koshmai told the committee that the major project could lead to job losses due to the deterioration of agriculture. Once the equipment is installed on the auger, it only takes a few workers to operate it.
“Don’t let industrial solar companies get involved,” he urged.
Tim Nykum, an environmental opponent of the project, said it poses a quality of life issue for people who live near the solar panels.
“I'm tired of people living anywhere in rural Delaware County trying to force something on us,” he said.
Obviously, a home with triple siding will lose property value.
People in the urban Muncie area are choosing rural Washington Township for a project that city residents want but don't have to live in, said Brandon Petro of Gaston.
“If we built a solar project in the Moro Plain, it would be different,” Petro said.
Others who do not support the project point to the Muncie City Council's proposal to build a solar power plant on an abandoned site that once housed a former General Motors plant. He added that city residents still want to replace agricultural lands with solar energy.
When it came time to vote, Cynthia Bowen read the proposed changes to the law, many of which were approved. But commissioners rejected the idea of compensation for lost property, saying the county is unable to enforce such a measure that would constitute a private contract between developers and property owners.
The restriction of the “good neighbour” proposal, which would also have given rise to claims against the developer, was rejected because it would have required a private contract to be concluded between the residents of the area and the developer.
Shannon Henry, a member of the Planning Commission and current chair of the Delaware County Commissioners, proposed the change when issues arose about limiting the county's available farmland to 2%, or 3,400 acres, for solar projects. About 20% or 34,000 acres. The request has been approved.
“In my opinion, 3,400 acres is not enough,” Henry told the audience as the cats howled.
The resolution passed and will be referred to the county commissioners.
The Planning Commission's job was to advise the commissioners. They will meet at 9 a.m. Nov. 20 in Commissioners Court in the Delaware County Building.
David Penticoff is a reporter for the Star Press. He can be reached at dpenticuff@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared in the Muncie Star Press: Planning Commission supports regulation to allow industrial solar projects.
