Businesses that want to develop solar farms in Porter County could soon have a new set of regulations. The county commissioners voted on second reading Thursday to repeal the solar ordinance adopted in 2020. That will allow a plan commission subcommittee to revise the rules.
Commissioner Barb Regnitz is a member of the plan commission. She said they hope to have a draft ready for the public by the August plan commission meeting.
"Should there be some revisions, then we will present that to the plan commission in September, and hopefully, then, we'll have a recommendation back to the commissioner board for the first reading in the first meeting in October," Regnitz explained.
But County Attorney Scott McClure does not believe that repealing the ordinance will impact NextEra Energy's application for its Malden Solar Farm. "We have one solar company who has submitted their application," McClure noted. "That application was submitted before this ordinance was repealed."
He believes the wider impact on future projects is complicated and still remains to be seen.