Multiple out-of-state, commercial solar developers are seeking to convert over 5,000 acres of Clark County’s finite and productive agricultural land into a base for millions of solar panels.

The proposed developments surround the areas of Paris Rd (627), Pretty Run Rd, Gay Evans Rd, Big Stoner Rd, Wades Mill Rd, Van Meter Rd, Clintonville Rd, Combs Ferry Rd and Jones Nursery Rd. The combined size of these industrial facilities would comprise an area approximately the size of Winchester itself.

However, the impact would not be limited to the above-referenced neighborhoods since the proposed ordinance would open up the entire county to this and other types of “special use” zoning; essentially creating a precedent for spot zoning. The result would be a devastating destabilization of our property values, environmental health, and infrastructure efficiency county-wide.

The out-of-state solar developers and their attorneys wrote the proposed draft solar ordinance text amendment (in violation of Kentucky Revised Statutes 100.211) which is currently being considered by the Planning Commission and is due to be considered by the Fiscal Court and City Commission.

Our prime farmland, wildlife habitat and residential property values are all threatened by these projects. The proposed developments would severely impact the network of local businesses and jobs supported by our agricultural sector.

The Bluegrass region – of which Clark County is an important part – is included on the World Monument Fund’s List of 100 Most Endangered Sites on Earth due to the extensive conversion of its farmland to non-agricultural use. The WMF described our region as "one of North America's most distinctive cultural and agricultural landscapes.”

The proposed solar developments would be funded by tax-payer subsidies and huge federal tax credits. The energy generated by these massive, industrial facilities would be transmitted to East Coast states to fulfill their mandates on renewable energy. It would NOT be used locally or reduce electric rates for Clark County rate-payers. Very few permanent, local jobs (no more than 10, according to the developers’ attorneys’ presentation to the Fiscal Court) would be created beyond the initial construction phase. Many more existing jobs would be displaced.  

The out-of-state solar developers are aggressively pushing Clark County officials to quickly pass their draft ordinance before the federal Investment Tax Credit declines (from 26% in 2020, to 22% in 2021, to 10% in 2022 and thereafter). They do not want to allow Clark County’s citizen-taxpayers the opportunity to perform essential due diligence- including a cost-benefit analysis, environmental or economic impact studies.

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Say No to Industrial Solar