County commission makes headways on solar panel regulations, hears Solid Waste annual report
The Reno County Commission met Wednesday, May 8 to make definitive progress in their ongoing debates surrounding solar energy regulations in the county. While they had adopted regulations regarding the use of limited-scale solar and neared the final stages of private-use solar, they still needed a focused conversation on commercial solar in the zoned portion of the county. Ultimately, the board suggested prohibiting commercial solar in a 3-2 vote.
Commissioner Ron Hirst made the first comment about prohibiting commercial use, noting that their previously made regulations on the smaller size implied that they would not want to allow the larger-scale solar.
“To me, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Hirst said.
Chairman Randy Parks agreed with Hirst, making the argument that earlier public hearings had revealed county constituents did not want large-scale commercial solar. Public hearings, however, may not be accurate representations of the entire district’s wants, as Commissioner Daniel Friesen pointed out.