BEATRICE – The Gage County board reviewed proposed solar regulations Wednesday, rejecting attempts to amend the regulations to make them stricter, but approving some changes.


One proposal dealt with industries that might build their own solar installations to power their operations….not to send power to the grid. The solar installations would be governed by the special use permit for the industry, not solar energy setbacks.


"You could potentially have an incoming industry...and what we're seeing from Norris and some of the other places, there is green energy attached. Someone may not be able to put in their facility without two special use permits. That's two sets of hearings, that's two of everything else. If they can deal with that in one package...it doesn't guarantee it will go through, but at least it's one permitting process they're going through, instead of multiple", said Gage County Board Chairman Erich Tiemann.


Supervisor Emily Haxby wanted such solar installations to be contiguous to the industrial property, but her amendment was defeated.
"I don't thing it's right to put a special exemption for an industry, for their solar. It should just be with everything else, it its not attached. They could put it three, four, five, ten miles away even...and then it would be no different than any other commercial industry coming in here. And then, it should pertain to all the regs."


In the end, the amendment regarding industrial prospects who use their own solar installations, passed on a 5-2 vote without the provision to be contiguous.
The regulations would provide for a viewshed study of solar installations to be required if they were within a mile of the Homestead National Historical Park. An amendment requiring that viewshed study in relation to schools, churches, and all state or federal recreations areas and wildlife management areas….failed.


During the discussion, supervisor Gary Lytle cautioned not to make setback or viewshed restrictions so burdensome, it rules out solar energy completely, in the county.


"I'm not an overly big fan of green energy, but I think we have to be open to the idea. And, I don't want to see us legislate solar energy out of this county the same way we did with wind energy. And, when you look at doing some of this stuff that is exactly what we're looking at doing. When you start looking at churches, schools, state and federal properties....I agree with preserving the Homestead National Park because of what it is, and how it's structured. But, when you start talking about all of this classification.....if you lay a map out and start putting spots where every church, school, NRD, or state and federal area is, we're getting dangerously close to legislating it out of the county."


Proposed solar regulations were studied by the county’s planning and zoning commission, before being forwarded to the county board.  After consideration of the amendments, the county board approved the solar regulations on a 6-1 vote.  No action was taken yet, to lift a moratorium on commercial solar energy permit applications.