County Commission to consider proposed Kansas Sky Energy Center during special business meeting on April 13

The Board of County Commissioners will consider a request from Kansas Sky Energy Center for a conditional-use permit, or CUP, during a special business meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 13, for a commercial/utility scale solar energy conversion system use, commonly referred to as a solar farm, on 1,105 acres of property north of Lawrence in Grant Township. The meeting will be held at the Public Works/Zoning and Codes Building, 3755 E. 25th St., in the training room. The meeting will also be available by Zoom. There is limited parking and seating, so the public is encouraged to carpool or attend online, if possible. For the Zoom link and meeting information, click here.

Commissioners will receive a presentation from staff and the applicant, hear public comment, discuss the CUP, and consider action on the item.

Written public comments can be submitted at https://www.dgcoks.gov/county-commission/contact or by emailing publiccomment@dgcoks.gov. They must be provided by 5 p.m. Thursday, April 11, to be included with agenda materials.

The proposed project is an up to 159-megawatt alternating current (MWac) photo voltaic (PV) solar energy facility. If approved, the project is anticipated to produce renewable energy capable of supplying electricity to about 30,000 Kansas homes annually. The applicant is requesting a 25-year CUP term. The applicant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Savion, LLC. As proposed, Evergy would build, own, and operate the project pending regulatory approvals.

The proposed facility would be located west of the intersection of East 1450/U.S. Highways 24 and 59 with one parcel at the northwest corner of East 1400 and U.S. Highway 24/59 and another in the southwest corner of the intersection of East 1500 and North 2000 roads. Here's a site map.

The CUP request was reviewed by the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission on Dec. 18, 2023. On a 4-4 vote, the Planning Commission failed to make a recommendation, and, therefore, it was deemed to have made a recommendation of denial to the Board of County Commissioners.

Douglas County Commissioners met for a work session about the project at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27. A recording of the meeting can be found here on the county's YouTube channel.