The Lyon County Community Alliance held its latest informational session for area residents Monday evening.
The session, regarding solar energy farms, was held inside the Lyon County Courthouse Annex with close to 30 residents in attendance. Leading the presentation was Anna Delong of the community alliance, who stated there were two major focuses for the evening.
The first was to inform individuals that regardless of where a solar farm may be located, it is an issue they believe affects all residents equally.
Second, Delong says Monday’s meeting was meant to show residents what members of Lyon County Community Alliance believe is the ultimate “vision” of city leadership.
The session comes after Evergy has had multiple appearances in front of local leadership, including the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas and Lyon County Commissioners, last month to discuss their plans for a solar facility near the Emporia Energy Center. During an interview with KVOE News Monday, Delong pointed to a November 2024 article in the Sentinel where she says Evergy’s CEO spelled out their desire to see data centers constructed within the Midwest, specifically Kansas and Missouri.
During their recent presentations, Evergy representatives have stated the solar farm project predates any local data center discussions. Delong claimed Monday evening that the data center discussions may predate the solar plans.
Monday’s session comes with a countywide moratorium on solar projects in place through early December. County Commissioners have stated they enacted the moratorium to provide more time to develop the county’s zoning regulations to better accommodate the potential for solar facilities.
