Lower Valley Energy has withdrawn their permit application to build a small solar farm on school trust land south of Thayne. The application was listed as the first action item on Wednesday morning’s agenda for the Lincoln County Commission Meeting. However, the application was withdrawn at the request of Lower Valley Energy who had previously sent a letter to the county stating that “Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to delay further development of our 1 MV solar project.” The letter went on to read that Lower Valley Energy hopes to “bring the project at a later date.”

The letter was acknowledged and commissioners formally withdrew the proposal with no discussion.

Lower Valley Energy provided an additional public statement following the commission meeting, which reads:

“We continue to explore potential sites but have also not removed anything formally from consideration. We continue to engage and listen to our communities and members we serve to hopefully locate the best site that meets everyone’s needs and expectations. We are committed to informing our members on any next steps in adequate time for them to engage and us to hear from you. For now we are exploring all options and potential new locations that are well supported economically, operationally and community. We’ll keep you updated when we take additional steps or actions to move this project forward.”

The project was originally proposed to be built near the gravel pit on Strawberry Road east of the county landfill. The project site was then moved further west to the school trust land adjacent to Strawberry Road between the landfill and Highway 89. Both sites were met with pushback from the community.

The project, which would have sat on seven acres with additional acreage set aside for vegetation landscaping, was designed to be subscription based for members who want solar based power.