Lafayette Reporter

Eric McVicker, Louisiana spokesman for Conservatives for a Clean Energy Future, said that Iberia Parish has a unique opportunity to pass an ordinance, similar to that passed in Evangeline Parish, to foster community-driven development in renewable energy. McVicker called the Evangeline Parish Utility Scale Solar Facility Standards Ordinance the “gold standard” in balancing the advancements of new energy while preserving the community’s values and integrity.

“Evangeline Parish’s Utility Scale Solar Facility Standards Ordinance sets a gold standard for balancing the advancement of renewable energy with preserving community values and environmental integrity,” McVicker said. “The ordinance addresses critical areas such as setbacks, vegetation screening, comprehensive decommissioning plans, and environmental impact studies. These measures ensure that solar projects integrate seamlessly into the community without disrupting daily life or placing undue burdens on residents.”

On April 3, 2023, the Evangeline Parish Police Jury unanimously adopted the Utility Scale Solar Facility Standards Ordinance "in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and to provide for the orderly, planned, efficient, and healthy development of utility scale solar facilities."

The ordinance, while establishing a practical framework for the construction of these facilities, also sets forth requirements and regulations intended to protect and preserve the integrity of both the environment and the Evangeline Parish community. These include: setbacks dictating that the facilities must maintain minimum distances from public roads, non-participating properties, and homes; solar panel height restrictions; fire monitoring; security fencing; and requiring regular maintenance of the solar facility as well as of landscaping and vegetation. Additionally, construction of facilities requires a decommissioning plan that lays out how the developers will deconstruct the facility and restore the land to its original state, and developers must provide a bond or other type of financial security to the Parish government in order to assume full responsibility of any costs associated with decommissioning, thus ensuring that taxpayers will not be on the hook.

“By proactively enacting such detailed and thoughtful policies, Evangeline Parish has demonstrated how local governments can take control of their renewable energy future, fostering economic growth while safeguarding natural resources and community character,” McVicker said. “Iberia Parish has a unique opportunity to build upon this framework, tailoring it to its own needs to ensure responsible, community-driven development in the renewable energy sector.”

KLFY reported that in September 2023, First Solar broke ground on its New Iberia facility, which is projected to be completed in 2026 and create over 700 new jobs. According to Ramesh Kolluru, VP of research at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the new facility would provide opportunities for economic development in the area as well as a stronger, better-trained workforce.

According to KATC, the Iberia Parish Council placed a six-month moratorium on a solar farming ordinance in January 2024, with the intent to use that time period to gather more information about solar farming and its potential impact on Iberia Parish.

“We want to make sure that we have a real, defined answer when people ask us what it is that we're bringing to Iberia Parish [...] We want to make sure that when we start doing solar farming in Iberia Parish, we're gonna have a plan on how it's going to be done,” said Parish President Larry M. Richard. “We'll have an ordinance that these companies can follow.”

However, as The Acadiana Advocate reported, in July 2024, the Iberia Parish Council voted unanimously to extend the moratorium until August 2025, citing the need to develop a comprehensive plan and regulations for potential solar projects. Councilmember Brian Napier emphasized that any ordinance must provide the Council and residents with the means to dictate potential solar projects in the Parish.

Eric McVicker is a seasoned GOP Strategist, political consultant, and community advocate with over 15 years of experience in political campaigns, and nonprofit, and governmental affairs work. He has served as a key strategist for more than 100 political campaigns. A graduate of LSU and Loyola University’s Institute of Politics, McVicker has also served on multiple nonprofit boards.