With Evergy recently giving information about its plans for a solar facility to Lyon County commissioners and the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas despite a county-imposed moratorium on solar matters, Lyon County Community Alliance is urging landowners to a special meeting to “stop the solar land grab” next month.
The meeting will be at 6:30 pm October 5 at the Lyon County Courthouse Annex, 402 Commercial. There will be speakers from Osage County, which has had a moratorium on solar projects, as well as conversations about “lessons learned” and a question-and-answer session.
The Community Alliance says Evergy’s proposed solar farm near the Emporia Energy Center, Road 200 east of Road S, would affect over 2,000 acres of farmland. The group also says the project would not pay property taxes for a decade and would not provide “significant permanent jobs” — perhaps 5 or less. Evergy has said the project would involve less than 800 acres.
Lyon County’s solar moratorium runs through December 1. A separate moratorium on data centers goes until January 22.
