Solar farm ordinance hits home stretch
Public hearing on proposed zoning rules for large-scale solar project coming Wednesday afternoon, as county races before moratorium lifts.
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SOLAR FARM ORDINANCE HITS THE HOME STRETCH
Round 2 of public comment on proposed changes to Tippecanoe County’s large-scale solar energy systems is set for Wednesday afternoon, as sides line up and a deadline for zoning rules before a moratorium lifts at the start of June.
The Area Plan Commission Ordinance Committee sorted through a series of recommendations on setbacks, noise, glare and the sheer volume allowed for solar farm during a March 4 hearing. Still up for review are options for what zoning codes should require when solar fields are decommissioned and land is returned to its original state.
At stake: In 2021, the county approved zoning requirements – including those for decommissioning, setbacks and others for agriculturally zoned land – for solar projects of 10 acres or more. Commissioners since have questioned whether those requirements contemplated projects that were more than 100 times bigger. In June 2025, county commissioners imposed a one-year moratorium on large-scale solar proposals to allow a review of zoning codes.
The moratorium came after a proposal surfaced for a 1,700-acre, 120-megawatt Rainbow Trout Solar Project in western Tippecanoe County. That project was filed for required zoning exceptions before the moratorium went into effect. That project was rejected by the Board of Zoning Appeals on a 4-3 vote in August, amid pushback by neighbors and despite pleas from renewable energy advocates.
The companies behind the Rainbow Trout project have taken matters to court to review that BZA vote.
The APC Ordinance Committee hearing March 4, along with public comments made during commissioners’ and Area Plan Commission hearings later in the month, show tension between neighbors who fought the Rainbow Trout project – who argue that the first draft of the proposed zoning regulation aren’t nearly sufficient – and solar advocates who’ve said they’re concerned that some provisions being considered could wind up being an effective ban on the energy source in Tippecanoe County.
Among the changes, so far …
