photo by: Shutterstock

Solar panels are shown in this photo from Shutterstock.

After another legal setback, the electric utility Evergy says it is still committed to building a utility-scale solar farm on more than a thousand acres of farmland north of Lawrence.

But now, a new question about the Kansas Sky Energy Center has emerged: Will the Douglas County Commission have to hold a new public hearing and take a new vote before the project can begin construction?

A recent decision in Douglas County District Court has made the question relevant, but county officials are declining to provide information about what path the controversial project would have to travel to move forward.

Grant Township, alongside affected property owners and local associations, are suing Douglas County over its approval of the solar project, and at a hearing last week, the trial was delayed for a second time due to continued discovery disputes, as the Journal-World reported.

The trial was initially scheduled for April of this year before being postponed to late November. Now, a jury trial is not expected until next summer. The shifting timeline is significant because the project’s permit is set to expire months before the trial begins — and the county already granted its one and only extension.

The recent developments have raised questions about whether Kansas Sky Energy Center can keep its conditional use permit — which allows a property to be used in a way not otherwise permitted under its zoning — after it expires, whether developers would have to submit a new application and whether the project will ultimately be built.

Evergy provided limited responses to the Journal-World’s questions about the project’s future, including whether the company has explored options to preserve the conditional use permit, or CUP, and how the approaching expiration could affect the project.

The company did, however, say it “remains committed to the project.”

“Evergy is eager to work with stakeholders in Douglas County on Kansas Sky and awaits conclusion of the legal process that has unfortunately slowed construction progress on this carbon free and needed project,” Courtney Lewis, a spokesperson for utility, said via email.

PERMIT QUESTIONS REMAIN

The planned 159-megawatt solar farm spans roughly 1,103 acres of farm fields in Grant Township near the Midland Junction area north of Lawrence. The project — developed by Savion while Evergy will own and operate the facility — is anticipated to power 30,000 homes annually.

“In addition to strengthening the grid through clean energy, Kansas Sky would be ideally located near existing electrical infrastructure, reducing cost and limiting disruption to the area,” Lewis said.

However, because a District Court judge issued a temporary injunction halting construction on the project at the end of 2024, the solar farm has not been able to break ground.

The project’s CUP was approved by the County Commission in 2024, and the lawsuit was filed shortly after as Grant Township and neighbors contended the county did not follow its written rules in approving the project. Under the county’s zoning regulations, if the uses are not completed or a building permit has not been obtained within two years of approval by the county commissioners, the CUP automatically expires.

Applicants are able to file a one-year extension on their CUP, and one was approved by the County Commission for the Kansas Sky Energy Center earlier this year, as the Journal-World reported.

The new expiration date for the project is April 13, 2027. The code does not allow additional extensions to be considered.

The Journal-World asked the county whether the Kansas Sky Energy Center could move forward if its CUP expires before the lawsuit goes to trial in July, as well as whether projects in similar circumstances could proceed through another County Commission vote or other action.

“Out of respect for the legal process, Douglas County is not going to comment on ongoing litigation,” Karrey Britt, the county’s spokesperson, said via email.

There is no other provision in the county’s zoning regulations that clearly allows the county to grant the Kansas Sky Energy Center another extension after it already used its one-year extension. If Kansas Sky’s CUP expires before the project can move forward, the county’s regulations suggest the developer would need to submit a new permit application.

They also say that reapplications for expired permits must comply with the zoning regulations in effect at the time of reapplication. However, the code does not specifically address whether an ongoing lawsuit or court-ordered construction halt could provide an exception.

PLAINTIFFS AWAIT ANSWERS

Quentin Templeton, the plaintiffs’ attorney challenging the county’s approval of the solar farm, said he is unsure of what the project’s future will look like.

“I wish I knew the answer to that,” he said.

Templeton also questioned why the county continues to pursue the project if the permit will expire before the lawsuit goes to trial. He said his clients will continue litigating because if they dropped the lawsuit the county could move forward with construction while the CUP is still valid.

Looking ahead, Templeton said the plaintiffs plan to focus on the county’s document collection process after the ongoing disputes with discovery. He said they want to determine what analysis officials conducted before approving the project and whether the application included everything required by county regulations.

“The question is, what did they have when they had their initial vote? That’s what I care about,” Templeton said.

“I think it will be really interesting to see what we find out,” he said.

Templeton said he hopes the next few months will provide more clarity on the project’s status before his clients incur the additional costs of preparing for depositions and the trial.

“The ball’s really in the county’s court,” Templeton said. “And I don’t know why the county … is continuing to pursue it if there is this expiration period.”