Mayor Linda Gorton comments on proposed solar farm

Mayor Linda Gorton offered public comment today (Oct. 29) before the Kentucky Public Service Commission concerning a proposed solar farm. Here are her comments:

Good morning and thank you, Chairman Hatton and Commissioners Regan and Stacy, for the opportunity to speak to you today.

I am Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton, and I am here to object to the proposal to build a commercial solar operation in Fayette County on prime farmland.

As you may know, Lexington is home to a merged city-county government. As Mayor, I represent about 320,000 people throughout Fayette County in both rural and urban areas.

Fayette County encompasses almost 183,000 acres, including just over 132,000 acres that are zoned agricultural. Our farmland is considered among the best quality soils in the country, if not the world.

Our countryside is home to many of the world's best thoroughbreds - I know you've seen the beautiful pictures - horses bring thousands of tourists to our county. We also have prime farmland for cattle operations.

When I look at Bluegrass farms, I see businesses.

The rural area is truly a work horse for our economy … one estimate is that 1 in 12 jobs in Fayette County can be attributed to farming operations. Agriculture is estimated to generate $2.3 billion a year for our economy.

We have worked hard to preserve and protect our land - it is our identity. In 1958, Lexington enacted an urban growth boundary, which restricted development in the rural area. It is the oldest growth boundary in the nation.

In 2000, we enacted a "Purchase of Development Rights" program through which we purchase agricultural conservation easements in order to preserve farmland for generations to come. To date, there are 285 farms protected by this program, totaling more than 31,000 acres.

Despite these protections we must remain vigilant to protect our irreplaceable farmland.

Today, there's a new threat from East Kentucky Power Company, an electric utility company. The company wants to build a solar facility on 388 acres of prime farmland in the Horse Capital of the World. We anticipate we will receive similar proposals in the future.

Sadly, the company did not even bother to properly vet its proposal in Lexington. The company sponsored a single public meeting on May 16th at its Winchester office building in Clark County. There have been three press releases - one on May 9th, one on May 14th, and a third on April 29th. That's it.

Our government supports solar. We are developing our own solar programs, as well as investigating whether our Haley Pike landfill can accommodate solar. We think solar projects are possible here without forcing us to give up irreplaceable farmland, a key component of our signature industry.

In their responses to our attorneys, East Kentucky Power Company admits this project offers no quantifiable benefits to Fayette County. No new jobs.

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