ANDERSON — A state commission has declined a new request to assume jurisdiction over the proposed Lone Oak solar facility in Madison County.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) Wednesday issued a ruling in which it declined to assume jurisdiction in a complaint filed by Invenergy, affirming a decision in April not to take jurisdiction.
In the complaint, Invenergy maintained that it was unreasonable for the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals to require that the Lone Oak facility in the northern part of the county be operational by Dec. 31.
The company wanted the IURC to rule that the county’s BZA decision not to grant a two-year extension was unreasonable and that the county’s 2017 solar ordinance should be voided.
In its decision, the IURC noted that Invenergy has requested a judicial review of the BZA decision and that the review is pending in Grant County. The court action has therefore been delayed by action taken by the company, the commission found.
Invenergy maintains that it couldn’t begin work on the Lone Oak facility for several reasons, including a pending lawsuit by remonstrators that hindered financing, the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply-chain issues.
At a July hearing, Michael Hill, an attorney for Invenergy, said that if the IURC declined to exercise jurisdiction, the ordinance and BZA denial of the extension would “effectively kill” the facility.
Hill also said that the company intended to meet all the conditions of the special-use permit that was issued by Madison County, except for the operational date, as well as contractual obligations to landowners and the county.
The original request for the IRUC to assume jurisdiction asked that one of two steps be taken to allow for future construction of the $110 million project that would produce 120 megawatts of electricity on 800 acres.
The company was asking the IURC to rule that the county’s solar ordinance is unreasonable or void. If that action was not approved, the company wanted the state commission to provide an additional three years to complete the project.
The county’s position was that Invenergy’s complaint should take place in a court. Previously, Invenergy asked, and the IURC agreed, not to exercise jurisdiction over the project.
The company obtained a specialuse permit from the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals in 2019, with construction to be completed by Dec. 31, 2023.
The remonstrators’ appeal in Madison County was denied by Madison Circuit Court Division 6 Judge Mark Dudley in 2021. The Indiana Supreme Court denied transfer of the case later that year, two years after the original special use was granted for the facility.
W hen the BZA denied a request from Invenergy for an additional two years to complete the project, Invenergy filed a civil lawsuit in Grant County against the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals.
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