Behind the vote that sank Rainbow Trout Solar, the county's first utility-scale project

Ballots show why Board of Zoning Appeals members voted down the 1,700-acre, utility-scale project. Companies say they’ll continue to push ahead, even as county’s new solar moratorium looms

What sunk the Rainbow Trout Solar Project, Tippecanoe County’s first utility-scale solar proposal, rejected by a slim margin in the wee hours Thursday morning?

After months of lead-up and nearly six hours of testimony that started Wednesday evening, ballots filed by the seven-member Area Board of Zoning Appeals in a 4-3 vote showed lingering doubts about a 1,700-acre, 120-megawatt solar project, on what would have been the biggest single use of land in the county’s history.

Residents testifying against the Rainbow Trout Solar proposal lined up Wednesday during a hearing that lasted nearly six hours. (Photo: Dave Bangert)