Tensions high at first solar regulations meeting

Tensions were high at the Jackson County Courthouse last Thursday evening as more than 200 residents packed a public meeting to weigh in on proposed zoning regulations that could determine the future of a commercial solar project near Delia.

The meeting, which was the first of two scheduled, drew a standing-room only crowd in the first-floor meeting room, with people in attendance spilling into the Courthouse hallways during the three-hour meeting. 

About 50 people were signed up to speak for three minutes each, sharing a wide range of concerns with members of the Jackson County Planning Commission. 

Planning commission members present were Jonathan Wimer, Luke Kennedy, Bob Phillips, Chris Gordon, Jason Murphy and David Anderson.

The proposed 34-page regulations had originally been drafted by the county commissioners and county attorneys. The draft was then given to the planning commission last December and has since undergone several revisions during months of work sessions. 

The regulations were prompted by the proposed Jeffrey Solar project, a commercial solar farm planned by NextEra Energy Resources of Juno Beach, Fla. If approved, the project would cover about 5,000 acres of land in southwestern Jackson County near Delia, according to NextEra officials.  

During the meeting, members of the planning commission listened to, but did not respond to, comments or questions from the public.

Alan Anderson, energy lawyer and chair of Polsinelli’s Energy Practice Group, told planning commission members during the meeting that there are already 248 gigawatts of solar energy being produced in the United States.

“While solar energy is new to Jackson County and relatively new to Kansas, we’ve been doing this for decades,” Anderson said. “They know how to do a project safely. If you overregulate, you will absolutely not allow a project to move forward.”

Anderson said that Jackson County has lost 19 percent of its family farms between 2017 and 2022 and that solar projects can help save them.

Sherman Bernett, lead developer for the Jeffrey Solar project, said the current draft of solar regulations will stop the project.

“This latest draft of regulations will not allow this project to move forward,” Bernett said. “The setbacks proposed are not based on science and engineering and take away landowner rights.”

The draft regulations state that solar panels must be at least 1,320 feet (a quarter mile) from any existing residence and 300 feet from the property line of any non-participating resident (neighbor), unless lesser setbacks are agreed to by property owners.

Bernett suggested moving the setbacks to 300 feet from homes and 100 feet from property lines.

For more information on this and other stories, please log in to your holtonrecorder.net account and select “Oct. 1, 2025” under “E-Editions.”