Solar permitting — Bourbon County, Kansas
1 news item.
⛔ ACTIVE MORATORIUM — 48-Month Moratorium (Jan 13 2025); unanimously adopted by new commission (Whisenhunt, Beerbower, Kruger); moratorium expires Jan 13 2025. Permitting: Bourbon County Commissioners: CUP in Agricultural; very high compliance stringency. Track record: Tennyson Creek Solar I & II…
Key driver: Newly elected conservative commissioners voted unanimously for a 48-month solar moratorium in Jan 2025, replacing an outgoing board that had negotiated solar agreements; county is effectively closed to utility-scale solar through 2029.
Permitting process
Local permitting pathway
Bourbon County Commissioners: CUP in Agricultural (A-1) district.
Setbacks & buffers
None codified. No confirmed county-specific solar ordinance.
Spacing requirements
None codified.
Size restrictions
None codified.
Penalties & bonding
Total penalty: +57 (Moratorium +32; Ordinance +25)
State-level permits & approvals
No statewide siting preemption for utility-scale solar. County-level conditional use permits (CUPs) required. Significant local opposition emerging: Sedgwick Co. moratorium 2023-2024; Butler Co. banned solar in Flint Hills 2023; Harvey Co. banned large utility solar. Some counties have quarter-mile or half-mile setback buffers (Kearney Co.; Gage Co.).
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State policy & grid context
State RPS & clean energy policy
20% by 2020 — mandate converted to voluntary goal (HB 2369, 2015) | Kansas Renewables Policy | K.S.A. §66-1256
State incentive programs
No Kansas RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standard). Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) approves utility-scale cost recovery. Kansas Sky Energy Center (Douglas County, 159 MW) approved by KCC July 7 2025 ($228M, Evergy). SPP (Southwest Power Pool) grid. No property tax exemption for solar. Evergy (formerly Westar + KCP&L) serves eastern KS; Sunflower Electric serves western KS.
Grid & interconnection
SPP (Southwest Power Pool)
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Battery storage (BESS) P1 State-Default Permitting
No standalone county BESS ordinance confirmed.
Local BESS ordinances & bylaws
County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.
Community opposition P1
No organized opposition on record for this county yet — no petition, group, or oppositional coverage tracked. Absence of opposition is a positive siting signal.
Subscriber intel Subscribers
Researched for this county and available with a subscription:
- 🔒Project track record
- 🔒Developer intelligence
- 🔒Community & board sentiment
- 🔒Governing board
- 🔒Sentiment rollup
Energy-related meetings & dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
State PSC dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
Local news P3
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