BIG CONCERNS IN KANSAS

Protect Kansas Counties from IRRESPONSIBLY SITED Industrial Utility-Scale Solar Facilites

Kansas Citizens Take Action, Raise Your Voices…NOW

Our rural neighborhoods and communities are being besieged by energy companies who are aggressively securing as much agriculturally zoned land as they can in our counties to build large, utility-scale, industrial solar facilities.

Why in our rural communities?
Because its cheaper for energy companies to use our rich agriculturally zoned land to take advantage of lower development costs.

 

It is critical to get involved NOW if you want to preserve your Kansas quality of life,
our beautiful rural land, communities and wildlife habitats.

 

SUPPORT the Federal Lawsuit Against IRA Tax Subsidized
Industrial Utility-Scale Solar Power Facility Projects
that Have Not Undergone NEPA Review

Click Here to Participate in the Amicus Brief for this Federal Lawsuit

Concerns Grow Over Utility-Scale Solar Power Facilities Expanding Across Rural America

Fox News Bret Baier and Mike Emanuel Report on the Citizen Opposition to NextEra Energy’s West Gardner Solar Project

Concerned Citizens’ Testimonies

KS Legislature Committee on Utilities Citizens 3/16/2022 Presentation 

Soil Errosion & Ecosystem Risks

Roger Boyd Ph.D. – Douglas County, KS Santa Fe Trail Association

Ask Questions, Knowledge is Power

KS Senator Mike Thompson – The Truth About Renewable Energy

The Real Cost of Renewables

Mark Mills/PragerU – What’s the Real Cost of Renewables?

Negative Economic Impacts

Risks of Soil & Water Contamination

Negative Impacts to Agribusiness

John & Millie Franke – Owners GLO Farm and Frankenbees

The Negative Long Term Impacts

KS Senator Mike Thompson – The Long-term Impacts

A Simpler Solution for Climate Change

Kiss the Ground Documentary – A simple solution for climate change

Property Devaluation

Lack of Transparency by Developers & Local Government

History & Communities at Risk

Barbara Kerr – KU Professor & Douglas County, KS Resident

The Unknowns of Decommissioning

KS Senator Mike Thompson – Decomissioning Utility-Scale Solar

Soil & Water Contamination

Damaged Solar Panels = Soil & Water Contamination Concerns

Help Your County Planning Commission and Commissioners Craft STRONG Solar Regulations…No Regrets!

For Kansas County Elected Officials to protect their residents, STRONG SOLAR REGULATIONS are critial legislation.  Regulations that clearly and consistently outline the provisions that are required by our counties to be included in all Utility-Scale Solar project proposals submitted by all energy companies.

Energy and Utility companies in general make a lot of promises when it comes to Utility-Scale Solar: increased revenue, jobs, little to no impact on the environment and property values. Solar Regulations that clearly define the provisions of a developer’s obligations will protect and preserve Kansas quality of life, our agricultural heritage, the character of our counties and our environment.

Protecting Agricultural Land, Wetlands & Waterways

Strong and consistent County Solar Regulations will clearly govern the siting of industrial utility-scale solar power facilities. Avoidance of agricultural land, wetlands and waterways is important.  Incentives should be considered for guiding Utility-Scale Solar Power Facilities to the more than 300 Brownfield (contaminated) Sites that exist across both Douglas and Johnson counties.

Preserving Historical Sites

Did you know there is a ton of history right under your feet?  Our counties are Glaciated Regions, our rich, sandy soils are a result of giant galciers passing over our land between 2.6 million and 11,700 years ago.  Civil War battles were fought right here, and the historic Santa Fe and Oregon Trails pass right through our counties.  Given the number of historic sites in Douglas and Johnson County, KS and around the country, we advocate for NO Utility-Scale Solar on historic sites.

Limiting Utility-Scale Solar Facility Size

Strong Regulations will clearly define the acceptable size of a solar power facilities allowed in our counties: Total acreage of a project, number of acres of panels, total acres allowed in a county,
and distance between projects.

 

Solar Facility Setbacks and Buffers

NextEra and other energy corporations claim that solar power plants do not negatively impact property values. If that were true, impacted landowners would not be opposing these projects.

In order to protect adjacent landowners and protect the rural character of our communities, regulations must include generous, clearly defined setbacks and landscape buffers.

Decommissioning Regulations to Protect Counties and Taxpayers

A strong Decommissioning Plan specifies what must happen when the Utiltiy-Scale Solar Facility is no longer operating.

Utiltiy-Scale Solar Developers will try to ignore and/or downplay decommissioning.
Decommissioning massive solar projects is a very important issue for our counties.  Developers will try to claim that the net salvage value of their “dead” Solar Facility will exceed the cost of decommissioning.

Utiltiy-Scale Solar Developers usually sell their interest in their Solar Plant after 2 – 3 years of operation. This means that they will be long-gone by the time decommissioning comes around

Did you know?  Ownership of Utiltiy-Scale Solar Facilities turns over many times during the life of a system.
Most solar developers/operators are LLCs. They can walk away from their Solar Projects whenever they want to.