Since December 22, 2022, Christian County Fiscal Court and Dogwood Corners LLC have been locked in litigation — surrounding civil action from Oriden against a passed ordinance requiring a 2,000-foot variance for large solar developments outside the city.
That litigation, however, was brought to an end Monday morning, when Circuit Judge John Atkins issued a memorandum of dismissal of the suit.
Atkins wrote that after considering the arguments of counsel, pleadings and exhibits presented by both sides, the court has also been made aware of developments outside the record that required judicial notice.
This development was the November 29, 2023, repeal of Christian County Fiscal Court’s original ordinance in favor of a new language that falls more in line with House Bill 4, which came into effect last summer and governs large electric generation operations in the Commonwealth.
Among the many measures:
— A 2,000-foot variance remains for all non-participating property lines.
— A fence of at least eight feet in height, with staggered, filling vegetation must create 90% opacity.
— A license, with fees and project exhibits, must be approved by the planning commission.
— And a decommissioning plan must make clear the site cleanup and removal plans following the end-of-life for large solar energy systems.
On June 14, 2022, officials with the Christian County Fiscal Court approved a $220 million, 550-acre, 175-megawatt solar farm from the Mitsubishi power venture — one seeking to provide and sell energy to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Under this dismissal, Oriden officials can legally pursue their original investment, but under the restrictions of Christian County’s two-month-old ordinance.
