Final vote Monday on county’s rewrite of utility-scale solar regulations
Solar companies and green energy supports say the new regulation will amount to an effective ban on large-scale projects. County commissioners expected to vote Monday afternoon
Support for this edition comes from Stuart & Branigin.
FINAL VOTE MONDAY ON COUNTY’S PROPOSED UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR CODES
How much drama, if any, will play out Monday afternoon when a final cut of Tippecanoe County’s proposed revision of its solar energy system zoning codes goes to county commissioners isn’t clear.
Two of the three commissioners – Tracy Brown and Tom Murtaugh – voted to recommend the 11-page draft that came out of the Area Plan Commission April 15, after nine months of study and often contentious negotiations. The third commissioner, David Byers, spoken in public hearing in favor some of the major provisions in the collection acreage caps, new setback requirements and decommissioning rules.
If commissioners have second thoughts or revisions in mind, they would have to send them back to the APC for another public hearing before a final vote. With a one-year moratorium on industrial-scale solar projects under the current regulation set to expire June 2, that doesn’t seem likely Monday.
“I think there will still be some people there that will want to be heard,” Brown said this week. “But I think we’ve landed on good spot on this one. … I would also say that the ordinance can be amended at some point in time. We’re going to know a lot more as we watch other communities get into this process, as well.”
The recommendations came on the back end of a nine-month study of large-scale solar zoning codes developed by the county in 2021. The current regulations came under scrutiny in 2025, criticized that they weren’t equipped to handle a proposed 120-megawatt Rainbow Trout Solar Project, which would have covered 1,700 acres in two sections of western Tippecanoe County, near Montmorenci. The companies behind Rainbow Trout are in court now asking for a judicial review of an August 2025 Board of Zoning Appeals vote that rejected the project.
But process leading to the new proposal still had neighbors and large-scale solar advocates at odds – neighbors pushing for even tighter controls and solar companies contending that acreage caps and other codes, as presented, would be an effective ban.
Among the provisions in the proposed zoning codes the APC recommended in April:
Large-scale solar projects would be allowed “by right” in industrial zones or for projects that go through the Board of Zoning Appeals special exception process in agricultural, agricultural-wooded or office research zones. That strips AA/select agriculture-zoned land from the list of where solar project may go in current regulations. There are 93,950 acres zoned AA/select agriculture in the county, according to APC figures. That includes parts of where the Rainbow Trout project had been slated to go. Making AA/select agriculture land off limits would remove roughly 41% of the acreage currently available for solar projects in unincorporated parts of Tippecanoe County, according to APC figures.
Solar farms would have a 400-acre cap. Portions of a project would have to be contiguous within that cap. And projects would have to be at least one mile apart.
The codes would limit solar development to a total of 6,000 acres in the county.
Setbacks between a project’s footprint would bump up to 500 feet from neighboring properties. The current regulations have that set at 50 feet. The setbacks would increase when neighboring properties had panels on two or more sides, as well.
Developers would need to pay for third-party reviews asked for by the county to deal with technical aspects of a project.
The proposed ordinance expands on current guidelines for decommissioning a solar farm. That includes regulations on restoring soil, removing equipment and bonding requirements to pay for it, particularly if a company abandons a project.
Here’s more on the proposed codes, along with how the debate played out April 15 before the Area Plan Commission:
What’s next: The Tippecanoe County commissioners will meet at 2 p.m. Monday at the County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette. The meeting time moved from its regular 10 a.m. start time to 2 p.m. to accommodate the final day of early voting, which ends at noon Monday at the County Office Building.
The Lafayette and West Lafayette city councils are scheduled to consider the solar energy system zoning codes Monday evening. The Lafayette City Council meets at 6 p.m. Monday at city hall, 20 N. Sixth St. The West Lafayette City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at city hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave.
For more coverage
HEADS UP ON A SUBSCRIPTION AND A CAUSE: I’ll keep flagging these opportunities to start or renew your Based in Lafayette subscription by chipping in on a good cause when they come around. Bidding at the Toast to Mental Health auction includes two ways: The first is a certification for a one-year subscription. The second is a meet-up over beer or coffee (winner’s choice) for the winner and up to three others, along with a one-subscription. (Last year, I sweated the fact that the subscription WITHOUT having to hang out with me was doing better during the silent auction.) The Toast to Mental Health – benefiting Mental Health America Wabash Valley Region, NAMI West Central Indiana and Willowstone Family Services – is Thursday, May 7, at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road. For ticket, here’s your link. And here’s a link to the silent auction.
LAST CALL FOR EARLY VOTING IN THE MAY 5 PRIMARY
Final day of early voting: The cutoff for early voting is 8 a.m.-noon Monday, May 4, at the Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette.
Election Day vote centers: Voting on Tuesday, May 5, will be 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Registered voters in Tippecanoe County may choose any of these sites.
Lafayette
Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road
Lafayette Community Church of the Nazarene, 3801 Union St
The Grove Covenant Church, 3600 S. Ninth St.
Tippecanoe County Historical Association History Center, 522 Columbia St.
Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South
Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South
Northend Community Center, 2000 Elmwood Ave.
West Lafayette
Faith West Community Center, 1920 Northwestern Ave.
Córdova Recreation Center, 355 N. Martin Jischke Drive
Connection Point Church, 2541 Cumberland Ave.
John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road
Outside Lafayette/West Lafayette
Shadeland Town Hall, 2485 Indiana 25 West, Shadeland
Tippecanoe Township Volunteer Fire Station No. 2, 448 W. County Road 650 North, West Lafayette
Dayton Gathering Point Church, 7201 Wesleyan Drive, Dayton
Battle Ground Fire Station, 112 North St., Battle Ground
How to check who is on your ballot: A good way to check – and then line everything up against the candidate Q&As below – is through the Indiana Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com. There, you can check who will be on your ballot, based on your address and whether you plan to ask for a Republican or Democratic ballot. For a look at all candidates on Tippecanoe County primary ballots, including those for township trustee, township boards and state delegates, here are links to Democratic candidates and Republican candidates.
Candidate Q&As: Find Q&As in contested races in Tippecanoe County in this edition of BiL.
Thanks, again, to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
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