Solar.
Groundbreaking solar regulations that paved the way for solar development in St. Joseph County, Indiana. By code, pollinator habitat is required for any commercial solar development, a first in the state of Indiana, and to help developers out we even created a pollinator solar guide.
Our environmental sustainability is at a tipping point and we must do everything in our power to lead us in the right direction.
St. Joseph County staff was contacted numerous times about the possibility and hurdles of solar development in the county. Because the zoning ordinance does not address this form of electric power generation, solar energy systems are only allowed in the industrial districts. Total acreage of proposed projects exceeded 3000 acres. Recognizing this gap in our ordinance and the growing demand of developing solar, I requested that we develop a new section of the zoning ordinance and personally spearheaded the research and formulation of these regulations.
St. Joseph County’s new solar energy systems code achieved many goals of county officials and the comprehensive plan. The code made solar a permitted use in most development scenarios and development regulations were tailored specifically for this use. These additions streamlined permitting and made solar development more financially and politically viable. Pollinator plantings are
First in the state of Indiana, pollinator-friendly plantings are required for commercial solar projects. This provides many benefits, especially to the agricultural areas of the county where these projects are most likely to occur. These plantings will create wildlife habitat, prevent erosion, renew nutrients in the soil, and create beautiful solar projects.
As the County adopted this new requirement for pollinator-friendly planting with solar projects, a guide was adapted to help assist solar developers with the establishment and maintenance of these plantings. This was adapted from a guide published by the Minnesota DNR, with collaboration with MACOG’s environmental planner and wildlife biologists from the Indiana DNR and Pheasants Forever.
