Solar panels and potential solar panel farms dominated the discussion at Hopkinsville City Council at Tuesday’s meeting, as council chose to move forward in the creation of an amendment to the city zoning code.
The amendment, if passed on both first and second reading, would regulate certain aspects of solar farms in the City of Hopkinsville, including a minimum amount of feet the panels must be located away from adjacent property lines, creating a decommission expectation and more. Peter Schickler, a lawyer representing BrightNight Power out of Louisville, spoke against the regulations, calling them the most restrictive in the state.
Several people spoke against the amendment, but others spoke in favor of it, with Phillip Garnett saying they’re not against solar panels, they’re against companies coming in and taking over farmland without regulation.
Tom Britton detailed the draft amendment to council, saying it remains fair to solar energy companies while establishing appropriate guidelines.
Ultimately, council voted unanimously to forward the draft amendment on to be written into an ordinance that council could vote on at a later date when it comes back to council.
In other action, council unanimously approved on second-reading the annexation of roughly 613 acres of land on John Rivers Road into the city limits of Hopkinsville, to pave the way for the Ascend Elements to build in Commerce Park #2.