Spencer County Commission Denies Farmer Property Rights

Without warning, Spencer County Commissioners denied property rights to farmers in the County interested in solar development on their own private property.

With no notice, discussion or warning commissioners passed a solar moratorium preventing any solar development in the county.  Some farmers choose solar to gain steady income for their families.  Overwhelming numbers of Hoosiers support a farmer’s right to make this decision – 86% of Hoosier voters say it’s a farmer’s right to use their land for solar without government interference.  But with no warning Spencer County elected officials just tossed that right out the window.

Millions of Dollars at Risk

This rash action doesn’t just impact farmers – millions of dollars in new revenue that could improve the lives of Spencer County families are lost.  Solar farms pay millions in local property taxes, which means money for better roads, improved schools, better equipment for first responders or even funding for highspeed internet.  Other Hoosier counties have seen these benefits from renewable energy development.  But Spencer County politicians just threw all that away.

Just two years ago, as part of a proper decision-making process, the same commissioners passed a solar ordinance that set up the structure, rules and regulations for solar energy that protected farmer property rights and protected neighboring landowners.  The process was planned and public, there was ample opportunity for voters to weigh in.  Without warning Commissioners flip-flopped and tossed out the rules.

Whose Businesses and Property Rights are Next?

If they move on a whim against farmers who want solar, whose business and property rights will be next?

Will they decide on no logistics warehouses? Or what about grain silos? Or that new electric car battery plant? Anything could be next. When our elected officials act under the radar and without citizen input, it sends the wrong message to prospective businesses. What businesses, whether solar, logistics, pharmaceuticals, automotive, or any other, will want to locate in Spencer County when the rules of the road can so quickly change? That’s your children’s and your grandchildren’s future being shown the door.

Will you speak up? Act today! Email your county commissioners and tell them we need to support economic development in Spencer County, we need to support business growth, and we need to defend the property rights of our farmers. Solar energy does all that – and we had an established set of rules that these commissioners already passed. Don’t change the rules now.