NextEra Energy faces yet another challenge just two days after the nation’s biggest renewable energy firm suffered a setback at the hands of Wagoner County Commissioners in northeast Oklahoma who rejected the company’s plans for a nearly 5,000-acre solar farm near the town of Porter.
NextEra finds itself in Kansas City federal court where landowners in Jackson County, Kansas filed suit to stop the company’s plans for another 5,000-acre solar farm. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday morning before U.S. District Judge Holly Teeter who is handling a lawsuit filed by landowners Thomas Hoffman, Joseph Strong, Vincent Shibler and David Shibler.
Hoffman is a pilot and contends the project site would affect his flying business and his local runway. He owns several aircraft as well as an FAA-approved airfield of 2,583 feet closoe to the solar project.
The landowners are challenging the proposed Industrial Jeffery Solar Project to be located in the southwest part of Jackson County where Holton is the county seat. NextEra has been active in the county for the past few years, attempting to locate wind and solar farm projects.
Features of the Jeffrey Solar project:
- Photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays capable of generating up to 500 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable energy.
- The project encompasses approximately 5,000 acres.
- Subject to local and state approvals, the project is scheduled to begin operations by February 2030.
But as the Topeka Capital Journal reported in January when the lawsuit was filed, numerous defendants were named.
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Those named in the lawsuit are listed below (some are no longer serving after the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Donald Trump):
- The United States Department of Treasury.
- Janet Yellen, in her official capacity as U.S. secretary of Treasury.
- Aditi Hardikar, in her official capacity as acting assistant secretary of the Treasury for Management.
- Laurel Blatchford, in her official capacity as the chief implementation officer for the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Aviva Aron-Dine, in her official capacity as assistant secretary for tax policy at the treasury.
- Daniel Werfel, in his official capacity as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.
- The Council on Environmental Quality.
- Brenda Mallory, in her official capacity as chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.
- Keith Kelly, Mark Pruett and Linda Gerhardt in their official capacity as the chair and members of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.
The hearing scheduled for Wednesday is an attempt to seek an injunction to stop NextEra Energy and the government from approving the project. The four landowners who sued want the project paused until a comprehensive environmental study is conducted as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
“Federal Defendants provided no legally sufficient justification—let alone an “adequate discussion”—for failing to comply with NEPA in promulgating the rules and regulations on the provision, use, and transferability of the IRA tax credits,” alleged the lawsuit.
Their lawsuit contends the U.S. Treasury Department and other federal agencies unlawfully approved tax subsidies for renewable energy projects including the Industrial Jeffery Solar Project withouto proper NEPA review.
