photo by: Savion

This map shows the proposed project area for the Kansas Sky Energy Center north of Lawrence.

At a special meeting scheduled for April, Douglas County commissioners will consider a permit for a proposed commercial-scale solar energy facility.

The proposed Kansas Sky Energy Center would be constructed on land just north of Lawrence and west of Lawrence Regional Airport. The project would be near Midland Junction, roughly 2.5 miles north of Interstate 70. A collaboration between Evergy and Kansas City energy firm Savion, the solar facility would produce renewable energy “capable of supplying electricity to about 30,000 Kansas homes annually,” according to a news release from Douglas County.

The project would be located on approximately 1,105 acres. The permit application says roughly 604 acres will make up the “site area,” the footprint of the solar facility excluding the fence around it. Project plans call for an unstaffed facility, with occasional visits for operations and maintenance, on a 25-year permit term. As the Journal-World reported, pending regulatory approval, construction of the project would begin in 2024 and be completed in 2025.

In December, the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission ended in a 4-4 vote on whether to recommend approval for the conditional use permit. A tie vote equates to a recommendation for the County Commission to deny the permit.

Opposition to the project has centered mainly on its location. As the Journal-World has reported, more than half of the project area, approximately 595 acres, is considered prime farmland.

County commissioners will have a work session on the subject at 3:30 p.m. on March 27. That session is for informational purposes only, and no action will be taken. The special meeting, at which public comment is welcome, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, April 13. Due to potential construction at the Douglas County Courthouse, the location for both meetings has yet to be determined. Public comments can be submitted at douglascountyks.org/county-commission/contact or by emailing publiccomment@douglascountyks.org.