Pennington County seeks solar and wind task force members
Rapid City Journal|Shalom Baer Gee|Dec 31, 2024
After citizens voiced their concerns about solar and wind energy in Pennington County, the Board of Commissioners responded with a moratorium on all new projects for a year and began to pursue the formation of a task force to research the impact of utility-scale energy systems. The commission is set to address the formation of the task force at its Jan. 21, 2025 meeting. In the meantime, it's seeking potential members.
After citizens voiced their concerns about solar and wind energy in Pennington County, the Board of Commissioners responded with a moratorium on all new projects for a year and began to pursue the formation of a task force to research the impact of utility-scale energy systems. The commission is set to address the formation of the task force at its Jan. 21, 2025 meeting. In the meantime, it's seeking potential members.
After citizens voiced their concerns about solar and wind energy in Pennington County, the Board of Commissioners responded with a moratorium on all new projects for a year and began to pursue the formation of a task force to research the impact of utility-scale energy systems.
The commission is set to address the formation of the task force at its Jan. 21, 2025 meeting. In the meantime, it's seeking potential members.
The call for members came in the form of a public notice on Dec. 3 after the commission passed the moratorium at its Nov. 19 meeting. The year-long moratorium went into effect on Dec. 12.
“The Pennington County Board of Commissioners determined there is a present need to study the impact of utility-scale alternative energy …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]After citizens voiced their concerns about solar and wind energy in Pennington County, the Board of Commissioners responded with a moratorium on all new projects for a year and began to pursue the formation of a task force to research the impact of utility-scale energy systems.
The commission is set to address the formation of the task force at its Jan. 21, 2025 meeting. In the meantime, it's seeking potential members.
The call for members came in the form of a public notice on Dec. 3 after the commission passed the moratorium at its Nov. 19 meeting. The year-long moratorium went into effect on Dec. 12.
“The Pennington County Board of Commissioners determined there is a present need to study the impact of utility-scale alternative energy systems in Pennington County in order to evaluate whether the current regulations adequately address public health, safety and welfare,” the letter stated.
More than 450 citizens petitioned for the pause on wind and solar after the county’s planning commission issued conditional use permits on Oct. 28 for the Cheyenne River Ranch Wind and Solar Farm. The future site is located 7 miles south of New Underwood, 30 miles southeast of Rapid City, and 3.5 miles north of Highway 44.
The project plan consists of 10 wind turbines and 175,000 solar panels on an 1,124-acre site. According to the site plan, the actual footprint of the solar farm will take up 331 acres.
That project will go forward since the county already approved it, but the task force could have an impact on the approval process and requirements for future projects.