The Lexington council moved forward solar regulations that would ban large-scale solar farms on agricultural farmland. The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted unanimously during a Tuesday work session to move forward the zone text amendment that outlines what types of solar can go where. The vote came after a meeting lasting longer than three hours, where more than 25 people spoke for or against allowing solar in agricultural areas, in what has become a key fight over where solar should go. Along with the ban, the council also made several changes to a proposed zone text amendment that would limit large-scale solar installations to 1% of land in the agriculture zone, which would be about 1,800 acres. That guideline is for state officials who oversee public utilities.

Plans to build a 50MW battery storage farm in Dundee have been refused by councillors. The application went before members of the local authority’s planning committee on Monday. The plans, lodged by Vital Energi, sought permission for a battery plant to be built on land south of Pitkerro Road. The proposed development would have consisted of battery storage infrastructure, new access tracks, acoustic fencing with access gates and CCTV. But planning officers recommended councillors should refuse planning permission for the application. A report which went before the committee outlined the proposed site is in an area at high risk of flooding, while also pointing out that it is not allocated for business or industrial use. The project faced significant opposition. A petition urging Dundee City Council to reject the proposals for a BESS development south of Pitkerro Road gained hundreds of signatures. It was started by members of the Friends of Linlathen and Mid Craigie group, who have concerns over the mix of its former use as a gas facility, its position on a floodplain and vandalism in the area. For more see: https://news.stv.tv/north/dundee-campaigners-brand-battery-storage-site-plans-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen

Residents of two neighborhoods near Elgin were relieved Tuesday when the Kane County Board rejected a request to allow a solar farm near their homes. The board voted 12-8 against the request to install a community solar electric facility on land near Brookside Drive and Almora Terrace...Plans called for nearly 11,000 panels to be installed on the northern 26 acres of a 49-acre site. Currently, soybeans are being grown in the northern area. The southern part of the site is a flood plain. Forty-four people signed a petition against the proposal. Neighbors were concerned about the loss of the pastoral view from their homes. They also raised concerns about traffic to the site, the fencing, and the types of trees and plants that would have been used to screen the view of the panels from their properties.

The Allen County Commissioners met in front of a packed house Friday morning, where they voted on whether to approve amendments to a zoning ordinance regulating solar energy developments in unincorporated Allen County. Those for and against the amendments were in attendance as the commissioners voted unanimously to approve them...Mainly, the Allen County Commissioners amended the ordinance to reflect how the Department of Planning Services had the ordinance in June. That change makes the setback, or distance between a solar panel and property lines, 1,000 feet...Amy Kurt, the Director of Development for EDP Renewables North America, was also at the meeting. The company supports solar growth in Allen County, but does not agree with the Commissioners’ vote. “The ordinance that the Commissioners passed today would completely eliminate the ability for any large-scale solar energy development to happen in Allen County,” Kurt said.

In 2018, Gary Sisson and Dominion got their special exception for a solar farm with full community support. Some people were outright saying, "It's his land. Let him use it as he wishes." In the time since, however, opinions on solar farms have soured dramatically, and we got our first rejection of a special exception permit for a proposed solar site in this decade...The proposed site would have been on five contiguous lots along Route 3, just two miles to the west of Lyells. That land would have held a 350-acre solar facility that was projected to have a power output of 55 megawatts. The panels would have tracked the sun's path during the day, and lithium batteries would have been located in secured containers for storing 10 to 11 MW...The Board gave a pretty quick indication of which direction it was leaning for Vice Chairman Tim Trivett and Supervisor Matt Ingram both issued remarks after a lengthy back and forth between them, the public, and the property owners. "In the six years I've been on the Board, I have probably received more phone calls, emails, and information on this project than anything else that I've had to deal with, even though it's not in my district,” said Trivett...The Board rendered its decision denying the special exception request. This marks the first time such a project has been rejected by the Board.

A large-scale solar farm planned for a swathe of countryside has been refused, over concerns it would be a "wanton destruction of a rural paradise". Renewable energy firm Exagen had put forward plans to build Highfield Energy Park on the site, near the village of Whittonstall, in Northumberland, but it was voted down by Northumberland County Council planning committee. The firm had proposed erecting more than 90,000 solar panels across 271 acres (110 hectares), which they said would power 21,300 homes and save 27,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year. The plans had previously been earmarked for approval, despite more than 140 public objections, but were overturned at a hearing...But Northumberland county councillor Colin Horncastle, said: "I think we all agree with renewable energy, but we cannot have renewable energy at any price. "This is purely wanton destruction of a rural paradise."

The Hamilton County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) in Indiana has unanimously rejected Aypa Power’s Kingfisher Reserve BESS project. The decision, made on July 23, 2025, denied a land use variance for the 200 MWac / 800 MWh standalone facility planned for a 70.01-acre agricultural parcel at 21598 Overdorf Road, Noblesville, which is currently zoned A-2 Agriculture. Aypa Power, a Blackstone-owned company, through its lead developer, Mr. Brandon Gahman, asserted the project was crucial for addressing increased energy demand in Hamilton County...Aypa Power explained that the increased energy demand is driven in part by significant data center growth, with more than 20 either under construction or proposed in Indiana. Data centers alone are projected to consume more electricity than all homes in the US state of Indiana by 2030. Aypa highlighted a projected energy shortfall in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) territory, which includes Indiana.

Plans for a huge solar farm spread across six separate landbanks in the scenic Lee Valley in Cork have been shot down. Cork County Council refused planning for the Aglish Solar Farm Limited project citing archaeological concerns. The 100MW solar farm would have generated enough electricity to power almost 49,000 homes. But planners said the applicant had not demonstrated that enough archaeological investigations had been undertaken to preserve in-situ potential archaeological features and to safeguard archaeological heritage. The proposed development would contravene two specific objectives of the County Development Plan linked to archaeological features, it said, and would seriously injure the amenities of property in the vicinity, and would set an undesirable precedent if granted permission. “The proposed development is therefore contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” they said.

A planning inspector has upheld a decision to turn down plans for a solar farm which could generate enough power for almost a third of the borough’s homes. Ashford Borough Council (ABC) threw out French energy firm EDF Renewables' proposals for a site spanning the size of 190 football pitches, close to Sellindge and Aldington, last year. Dubbed the East Stour Solar Farm, the project would have generated almost 50MW - enough power for the equivalent of 16,900 homes, or 29% of the overall 58,000 households in the borough according to latest figures. EDF argued its array would hold a 49.9 Megawatts (MW) capacity, whereas any farm over 50MW requires government approval as a nationally significant infrastructure project. But ABC planning chiefs ultimately rejected the 256-acre scheme in May 2024. They argued it “would result in significant adverse individual and cumulative effects on landscape character”. Officers highlighted the negative impact the array would have had “on visual amenity that cannot be appropriately mitigated”. The officials also argued EDF’s planning papers were scant in detailing the site’s archaeological impact, including extra stress caused by construction trucks.

The Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission (UERC) has issued a common order on multiple review petitions filed by 12 developers against its earlier order dated March 27, 2025. The original order had directed the cancellation of Letters of Award (LoAs) issued to solar power developers under the 200 MW Solar Scheme. These projects, selected under the Type-I category of Uttarakhand’s Solar Energy Policy 2013, were awarded based on a tariff-based competitive bidding process and were meant to help UPCL meet its Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO)..In conclusion, the Commission rejected all the review petitions, stating they lacked legal merit and failed to demonstrate any significant error or justification for reconsideration. The developers’ requests for further extensions and restoration of their LoAs were dismissed.