February 5, 2025, and April 2, 2025, meeting minutes were approved.
BZA Petition 2024-8 Geenex Solar/Cobia Solar is requesting a “Special Exception” for construction of a commercial solar energy facility. The request falls under Decatur County Ordinance Article 20.
The board stated that due to a clerical error in a publication for tonight’s meeting they would not be holding a vote on Petition 2024-8. However, the president added that the petitioner has agreed to continue with the meeting as planned and offer their rebuttal.
Wayne Delong, Geenex Solar Director of Development provided information on the project stating that the full project contains 7,049 acres with 5,363 acres being behind fencing. Wayne then took some time to present slides that showed common concerns voiced during the public comments period at the November meeting. Wayne spoke about what the project has been doing since that meeting and showed a timeline for meetings with the county.
Wayne stated the Cobia Solar LLC project stands by its financial commitment to the county that they have been speaking about. Further stating that the project will not take advantage of the reduced tax liability afforded by SEA 1.
Donny De Castro, Geenex VP Development went into detail about the five agreements provided to the county thus far- Economic Development Agreement, Decommissioning (Facility Management & Removal Agreement), Road Use Agreement, Master Agricultural Preservation Agreement (contains eight sub-agreements, Fire Safety and Emergency Response Agreement.
The Geenex team explained why they felt that the Cobia Solar LLC project conforms to meeting the standards of all finding of facts. Donny spoke about Cobia Solar’s commitment to offering dual purpose of the land with options being through sheep grazing, bees, and crops.
Dana Cummings, Sunovis Ranch Owner, provided a brief explanation about their sheep grazing plan. She and her husband have been sheep grazers for 5 years and are excited about the possibility of working with Cobia Solar LLC. They have split the project into six different areas so that multiple landowners could have sheep grazing on their properties.
Eric Wood, ESRG, has 20 years of firefighting experience and 2 years’ working as a consultant that specializes in training firefighters to be prepared for any emergencies that could occur.
Brianna Schroeder, Landowner Attorney spoke about property rights and that the property owners voluntarily entered into these agreements and that it is their land and that they “should have the right to use their land as they see fit.” Brianna stated that a common concern that is stated is that the project will take land from Decatur County, when Decatur County does not own the land. The land belongs to the property owners.
Gordon Smiley, Landowner came to the podium and stated that this is an opportunity that will allow farmers to maintain ownership of their property, provide economic impact to the community, and that this opportunity provides a new farming option for their family. Gordon stated that when he made the decision to become part of the project, he took time and weighed the pros and cons just like other property owners.
The BZA asked Wayne Delong how long construction will take from start to finish. Wayne answered that it would take 24-36 months from beginning to completion of both Phase 1 and Phase 2 simultaneously.
The board stated that due to the information provided this evening and that there may be new adjoining property owners that they feel that it is only right to open back up for public comments.
Jason Kuchmay, Attorney for the Decatur County Citizens Stop Industrial Solar and Wind organization asked due to their being no vote this evening and the amount of information provided. If they could hear the public comments at the next meeting. He said this would allow both the board and the citizens time to absorb the information provided. The board agreed that this would be beneficial.
The board discussed with Geenex a timeline of if 30 or 60 days would be best to table this petition to. After conversations about the Economic Development Agreement and wrapping the agreement negotiations up it was agreed that tabling this petition for 60 days until August 6, 2025, would be in the best interest.
The board did take time at the end of the meeting to thank those who have submitted letters to the board and stated that they do take the time to read them.
