Approving commercial solar power regulations just the first step in process

So what’s your opinion of a commercial solar power energy operation in Jackson County?

It’s a major topic of discussion these days as public hearings are being held in the county to discuss proposed regulations for such an enterprise.

There are reportedly 7,722 utility-scale commercial solar enterprises operating in the U.S. currently.

Putting regulations into place is just the first phase of the process of approving a commercial solar power business in the county.

So far, from comments made at the first public hearing, neither proponents nor opponents of commercial solar like the county regulations being proposed.

Getting regulations approved that everyone agrees on may prove to be too much of a stumbling block, but if regulations do get approved, then there’s lots more steps to be taken before a commercial solar power business could be approved.

In the next step of the process, a specific business would request a conditional use permit in the county to own and operate a commercial solar power business here and more details about the business’s specific plans would be made public.

If commercial solar power is a legal business allowed in the county, state and country and managed and operated safely, professionally and responsibly and the county collects enough funds ahead of time to cover the costs to clean-up the commercial solar power site after it ceases operation or otherwise fails, and local property taxes paid by county residents would be lowered, then it should be considered.

The biggest concern is that the county must make sure to consider the impact of the commercial solar power business on non-participating adjacent landowners, who do not want it in their back yards. Should they be compensated, too, like landowners are compensated for leasing their land? The answer to that question is yes.

If such a commercial solar power business cannot be built and operated without endless lawsuits against it, for the duration of its operation, perhaps 30 years, then what’s the point? It should not be allowed.

The county also should require any commercial solar power business to prepay potential costs to clean up its building site when it’s done with it, before ground is even broken to start the project. I would think that that amount would be a significant amount and may nix the project before it even starts. If that is the case, so be it.

Jackson County should receive an annual payment from the business that wants to operate a commercial solar power business here, and that payment should be earmarked to lower local property taxes and nothing else. If a payment is missed, then the business should be shut down.

Jackson County residents/taxpayers should not ever - never - be required to pay taxes to clean up the aftermath of a commercial solar power business if the business goes belly up and the business owners try to leave the county holding the bag when it comes to paying for the clean-up.

We must respect the right of participating landowners to lease their land for a commercial solar power business - so long as the rest of the county is not adversely affected by it. We must also respect the right of non-participating landowners to oppose the project. There’s a lot of things that could go wrong with such an enterprise over a 30-year period. Tornadoes occur here. High winds occur here. There’s a lot of environmental things to consider.

A commercial solar power business located in Jackson County, Kan. is not the first one ever to be built, so our elected officials and county planning board members - and all those interested- should be able to adequately research how these commercial solar power businesses operate and what to look out for.

If such a business is not able to follow all of the laws on the books, and still prosper, then it should not be allowed to operate in Jackson County. Likewise, if such a commercial solar power business cannot move forward without the assistance of federal grants and/or federal subsidies - free Green New Deal funds - then Jackson County officials should not allow such a business to move forward here.

Wind and solar - the so-called clean energy sources - are not always so environmentally friendly after all and their popularity at the federal government level is either sky high or very low, making the continuation of federal grants and/or federal subsidies for new projects questionable at best. 

Finally, Jackson County officials must investigate the specific company that wants to operate a commercial solar power business here, as much as it investigates potential environmental concerns along with other variables that could determine whether the enterprise will thrive or fail here. 

County commissioners rarely serve 30 years but oftentimes people continue to live at the same location 30 years or more.

There’s still a lot of things to consider before a commercial solar power business can be allowed here. Stay tuned.