The future of solar energy in Daviess County looks a little cloudy. Owensboro Times has learned of a potential 150-megawatt solar farm project that would span 1,200 acres in Daviess County. However, Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen wants to revisit the planning and zoning codes about decommissioning solar energy systems before accepting project applications — a move two County Commissioners worry could put the project in jeopardy and lead to the County missing out on another major economic opportunity.
The potential solar farm is a project of NextEra Energy Resources. The company is in the process of preparing local and state applications for Owensboro Solar, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra, according to Sarah Borchardt, Leader of Marketing & Communications.
A high-level overview of the project is detailed on the NextEra website, which says the project would include creating photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays capable of generating up to 150 megawatts of clean, renewable energy.
“The Owensboro Solar project is an innovative solar project proposed for Daviess County, Kentucky, that will have a capacity of up to 150 megawatts of clean, renewable, American-made energy,” the project website says. “The Owensboro Solar project is more than solar panels — it represents a significant capital investment in Kentucky. Once operational, it will create good-paying jobs and millions in additional revenue for landowners and the local community.”
The website says the company hopes to begin operations in December 2027, a date that is subject to local and state approvals.
“Developing a solar energy project is a multi-year process,” Borchardt said.
According to Borchardt, Owensboro Solar will create approximately 200 construction jobs.
The project will encompass approximately 1,200 acres, according to the website, but the exact location of the proposed project was not disclosed. An image on the project page shows an icon on the east side of Daviess County, but the text below the image says the map “is representative of project location but is not to scale and the icon does not indicate actual project boundaries.”
The project sparked discussions among Fiscal Court members on solar energy and corresponding planning and zoning codes.
Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen told Owensboro Times that he proposed to the commissioners that they meet on August 13 to pass a moratorium on accepting plans for solar energy systems. Castlen said they do not “vote in advance” before meetings but rather discuss the possibility of supporting an action item.
“[Last week] I checked with the commissioners, and one commissioner was supportive, and two were not in favor of doing a moratorium,” Castlen said. “I tried again on Monday to have a special called meeting [on Tuesday], and I struck out.”
With knowledge of the NextEra project, Commissioners Janie Marksberry and Larry Conder were not in favor of passing the moratorium, while Commissioner Chris Castlen was.
The Judge-Executive said he wanted to pass the moratorium in order to revise the decommissioning clauses currently in place. Charlie Castlen said he is not opposed to solar farms coming to Daviess County, but the current decommissioning procedures are “very weak.”
As currently outlined in Article 8 of the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission’s Zoning Ordinance, all Level 3 Solar Energy Systems (SES) decommissioning efforts are to fall solely on the land owner, and plans must be submitted at the time of application.
Charlie Castlen said the projects could end up similar to Superfund sites that former President Ronald Reagan helped clear in the 1980s.
“That’s why our decommissioning rules and bonding need to be acceptable in a legitimate number,” Castlen said.
All SES revisions to OMPC’s Zoning Ordinance came in 2019 and 2022, when Charlie Castlen was a County Commissioner under former Judge-Executive Al Mattingly. Even though it’s been just over 2 years since the last revision, Castlen said it’s still appropriate to review and revise.
“I wasn’t judge-executive when that was passed. I can assure you, as Judge-Executive, I dive into things far deeper than I ever did as a County Commissioner,” he said.
Conder and Marksberry believe that altering the decommissioning rules would make it more restrictive for businesses and infringe on personal property owner rights.
Both commissioners said they are always in favor of the property owner utilizing their land how they see fit as long as it is within the law.
“That’s key, because once you change the law then you’ve changed what the person can do with their property,” Conder said.
Marksberry added, “I’m always going to err on the side of personal property owner rights, and I will vote no if it comes to the property owner’s rights being taken away.”
Conder believes that a change to decommissioning rules at this point could negatively affect the likelihood of a potential project opening.
“If I was in the middle of my development back in 2013-14, with our buildings and everything else we did, and then the City or the County changed their rules when I was about to submit a building permit, I would have been absolutely livid and said I’m not going there,” Conder said.
Meanwhile, Chris Castlen said he is in favor of a moratorium to pause all applications to allow the Commission time to review. However, he noted that being in favor of a moratorium does not confirm any support to revise the current articles.
“I don’t know for sure either way, because I feel like what we’ve been given is what the process is. I know what the state law is, and I know what our percentage would be, but as I said, I’d rather have the evidentiary-based information than just the opinions of what we need,” Castlen said.
Melissa Evans, Assistant Director of OMPC, said there has not be a formal permit submitted as of Tuesday morning regarding any Level 3 SES or any nonresidential solar systems. She also said no motions to revise plans have been made to OMPC.
